Iris Knows
by Halfblood With A SIG And A Pen
Summary: A series of one-shots in which Iris finds out that Barry is the Flash. I own nothing. (Now accepting prompts about anyone finding out.)
1. Chapter 1

**I accept prompts.**

Barry and Joe had taken Iris out for a fancy birthday dinner. She had always wanted to try Canlis, and now she had. They were walking to their car when they heard someone scream. They looked toward the source of the noise and saw someone hanging off the side of a bridge. She was holding on with one hand, the other hanging limp. Beyond her Barry could see that a car had crashed. The driver was still in the car.

"Where is the Flash?" Iris questioned. "He would usually be here by now." She looked all around expecting to see the now familiar streak of red headed toward the crash site.

"I'm sorry Joe, I-I can't." Barry stuttered as he took running stance.

"Go. It was going to happen eventually." Joe said and Barry ran.

"What are you talking about?" Iris finally looked at where her father was standing and just barely saw her best friend take off running in a flash.

Iris watched her best friend's course across the water and up the bridge's thickest support beam, he ran across the side of the bridge scooping up the slipping woman, and ran toward the hospital. In just a few seconds he had returned to the bridge for the driver.

After the Flash had taken the couple to the hospital he returned to a confused Iris and worried Joe.

"Iris, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why Barry, why did you keep this from me? Why didn't you let me help you? Is this what has been going on with you since you woke up? Why you're always so distracted and forgetful? Why you leave early every time we get together?" Her voice rose with every word she spoke. "Barry, don't you trust me?"

"Iris, I have always trusted you. I didn't tell you for the same reason I wanted you to stop writing about me. It's dangerous. There are others like me who would not hesitate to hurt or kill anyone who knows anything about me. I care about you. It was horrible to not be able to tell you, but it would be worse if you were kidnapped, or tortured, or killed because you knew. Iris, I love you. I just wanted you to be safe."

"Barry," Iris's voice softened only a little. "I can take care of myself. I could have helped you. Barry, you're my best friend. There are enough people to keep me safe-"

"Not against these people. There are metahumans that are too powerful even for me. Some are bulletproof, some are gaseous, and some we just don't understand well enough to formulate an attack."

"You protected me from a man made of steel, or iron, or some other type of metal, this lack of belief in yourself and your abilities is why you should have told me. You know I've always believed in you even when you didn't believe in yourself. Barry, I just wish you would have told me. I'm your best friend." With that Iris walked away.

Barry turned to follow, but Joe stopped him, "You know as well as I do that you need to let her process this alone, Barry." Joe gave a small smile. "But, you did just admit you loved her."

"She didn't even notice. I think I may have fried her brain." Barry said giving a half-hearted chuckle.

**Let me know what you think. I live off reviews and prompts. Love ya.**

**HBWASIGAAP**


	2. Chapter 2

**Prompt from TheLonelyWriter13. WestAllen where Iris falls for the Flash without knowing who he actually is and then he tells her he's the Flash **

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews I have never had such a quick and positive reaction to any of my stories before. Love ya.**

Iris had become obsessed. She not only looked for the Flash everywhere, but she looked for crime to. As a cop's daughter she knew who she should contact, but Iris couldn't help herself, if she saw something illegal she reported it on her website for the Flash to find. He always showed up. It was as if he wanted to see her.

Iris knew she was being ridiculous. The Flash wanted to protect the city and she just kept putting herself in harm's way to get the attention of a superhero. It was like she was back in middle school doing anything to get the attention of the boy she liked. Barry always disapproved of her "forgetting" her phone next to a certain boy's desk or "tripping" where she could be caught by her latest crush. What would Barry think of her if he knew what she was doing now?

Iris stood in an alley uploading a live feed of a drug deal to her blog. She knew eventually the Flash would catch on to her growing obsession and affection.

Wait- affection? Where did that thought come from? It was then she realized that it must be true. It wasn't just another obsession. It wasn't just another middle school crush. She loved the Flash. Iris loved the person that was saving her city. The person that came when she called. The person that gave others hope. But did she really love him? Did she love the Flash, or did she love the man behind the mask? She didn't even know who the man behind the mask was. She sighed then quickly covered her own mouth.

It was too late, the drug dealers had heard her.

"Where are you, Flash?" Iris pleaded aloud for her love to come.

And he did. By the time the drug dealer had pointed his gun at Iris, the Flash had tied up three of the four men in the alley. The dealer pulled the trigger and the next thing Iris knew the Flash was bleeding in front of her and the dealer was tied up with the others.

"You're bleeding." Iris stated dumbly looking at the bullet hole in his side.

"Yeah" his voice was vibrating quickly, but she could tell he was in pain.

"Oh my gosh this is my fault." She panicked

Iris turned her camera off and set it down to examine his wound.

"It's ok Iris, calm down, I heal pretty fast. I just need to get the bullet out before I heal around it. We need to talk though." His voice started out soft and calming but then grew hard and stern. He ran off and Iris knew he had caught onto her little game. She called the police and went home to change before she had to go to work. Interrupting a drug deal to attract the Flash's attention would not be an acceptable excuse for being late.

Iris closed the coffee shop and began to clean up while she waited for the Flash. A slight breeze alerted her of his presence. She started the climb to the roof.

"What were you thinking? You could have been killed, Iris!"

"I take it your side is feeling better."

"I'm fine, now answer the question; what were you thinking?"

"I-I" Iris started.

"Don't lie, please, I'm just worried about you." The Flash was standing closer to her than he ever had before. She could feel how close he was.

"I wanted to see you, and I wanted to help."

"Help me by keeping yourself safe."

"How does that help?"

"I can't focus on helping others if you're in danger. You are my first priority."

Iris couldn't stand it any longer. He might not be willing to let her see his face, but maybe if she closed her eyes . . .

Their lips met and the kiss lasted longer than either party thought it would.

"Iris?"

"Sorry," she looked down. "I'm so sorry."

"Iris, it's ok." Then she realized he wasn't changing his voice, and she recognized his real voice. It was the voice that told her stories of the impossible, the voice that comforted her when her dad came home late, the voice that talked her through her worst problems. The voice she heard come from the Flash was the voice of her best friend.

"Barry?"

"I'm sorry." It was his turn to look down in shame. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He took his mask off.

Iris looked into the eyes of her best friend and realized she loved the man behind the mask, she always had. She closed the gap between them again and didn't feel like ever separating again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Prompt from TheLonelyWriter13. WestAllen where Iris keeps being oblivious both to him being Flash and his feelings and one day he finally confesses but she keeps not understanding until he spats.**

**Thank you once again for all your kind reviews. Prompts are still an amazing thing.**

Barry was getting ready for lunch with Iris. Unfortunately her boyfriend would be there too, and he would be the third wheel. He knew he couldn't blame Iris, she was his best friend and didn't know how he felt. He left his apartment and headed to Jitters where he would meet Iris and Eddie.

He watched as they flirted and kissed right in front of him. Barry just sat there and pretended everything was okay.

Riiiing, Riiiing. Barry looked down at his phone. "I've gotta take this, sorry." He walked away as he answered the phone.

"There is something wrong with him. I swear it." Iris told her boyfriend.

Barry returned to the table. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

Barry left and Iris watched out the window but didn't see him pass by.

"You're right, he is acting kind of strangely." Eddie commented.

"Did you see what way he went?"

"No, why?"

"I didn't see him after he left, and-"

"Do not try to follow your best friend, Iris. That will not end well."

"Fine." Iris sighed.

Her phone buzzed. "Oh, Flash alert, gotta go."

"Iris," Eddie gave an exhausted sigh.

It had been two hours since the Flash had saved a school bus full of children from a telekinetic man. Iris sat waiting in Jitters expecting the Flash to come and tell her that she shouldn't have written about it. He did not disappoint. The next thing she knew she was standing on the roof.

"Iris," he sighed, modifying his voice.

"Spare me the lecture. I got it from my boyfriend, my dad, and my best friend in the last two hours."

"Well I'm going to give it to you again. It's dangerous. For heaven's sake you've already been kidnapped once because of it, so please, please stop." Iris could tell he cared about her more than as just another person living in his city, but she didn't understand why.

"Where did you come from?" she asked, expecting him to dodge the question like always.

"I've lived in Central City my whole life."

Iris took a few seconds to get over her surprise. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five." **(AN: If anyone knows his real age, I would love to know it.)**

"How long have you had these powers?"

"Since the night the particle accelerator turned on and then malfunctioned."

"How did that give you super speed?"

"The particle accelerator went active, but the dimensional barrier ruptured and unleashed unknown energies, antimatter, dark energy, and X elements into our world. "

"You're doing my friend Barry's thing where you stop speaking English."

Flash sighed heavily. "Dangerous theoretical stuff mixed with a storm cloud, made a lightning bolt, it struck me, and I woke up from a coma nine months later with lightning speed."

"Barry got struck by lightning that night too and went into a coma for nine months. Are you saying he could be like you?"

The Flash stared at her. "Take a second and think, Iris." Barry was starting to think Iris thought he could never become anything close to a hero. How else could she be so oblivious to what he was saying?

"I'm confused."

"The statistical probability of someone being struck by lightning is slim, Iris, surviving it is also incredibly unlikely, surviving a nine month coma with no lasting damage is also incredibly rare. This happening to two people struck by a lightning bolt in a storm enhanced by theoretical particles on the same day, and in the same city? THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN!"

"Barry?"

"Yes."

"Oh my gosh." She looked like she might pass out, and then she did.

Barry sped over to catch her. He took her back inside and set her on the counter. Slowly she came to.

"Hi, Barry. I just had a weird dream about you." She looked down at his suit. "Not a dream. Not the first time I've had a weird dream about you. Forget I said that."

"You babble after you pass out, good to know."

Iris smiled up at him. "Come closer."

Barry complied.

"Why did you act like you cared about me? Like more than a friend, or even a best friend."

"Because I love you, Iris." Barry moved even closer. "I always have." With that, Barry closed the remaining space between them and did what he had always wanted to do. He kissed Iris West.

**I hope you like this one because it was probably the hardest one for me to write. Love ya. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Prompt from Guest. Iris hears Cisco/Caitlyn calling for Barry on the Flash's earpiece.**

Eddie and Iris were sitting in Jitters after Iris's shift when his phone rang.

He looked down at his phone. "It's the station. I have to take this."

"Go," Iris was used to the inconvenience of calls from the station, she was after all the daughter girlfriend, and best friend of people on the police payroll.

"Armed robbery in progress at the bank on 31st. I have to go." Eddie leaned down to kiss Iris. "Maybe dinner?"

"Ok. See ya later." Iris tried not to look disappointed.

"I shouldn't remind of this and your father would probably kill me, but I know you care about it. Robbery is in progress a supersonic someone might show up."

"I'll follow at a safe distance." She smiled at her boyfriend as she grabbed her keys. "Thank you."

"You can thank me by not telling your dad."

Her smile widened. "Ok."

Iris arrived just before the Flash. The man that could run at super speed was late, she laughed to herself.

Gunfire could be heard in the bank.

"Dad! Eddie!" Iris got out of her car as her father and boyfriend were dropped on the street by a red blur.

The Flash was close to her. Close enough for her to hear screaming from his earpiece.

"Barry?! Barry, are you ok? Were you hit?" A familiar female voice shouted.

"Barry?" Iris whispered she saw his eyes widen before the Flash ran back into the building. "You owe me an explanation!" she shouted at the bank.

Iris walked over to Joe and Eddie. Eddie was bleeding from a bullet wound in his shoulder and was taken away seconds after she got there.

"Iris you can't keep showing up at crime scenes like this." Her father scolded. "It's dangerous."

"How much did you know, dad?"

"What are you talking about, baby?"

"I heard someone shout the Flash's real name on his earpiece. How much did you know?" Iris's voice grew louder.

"It was for your safety." Joe feebly defended.

"Lying doesn't keep me safe. It just makes me trust people less. You knew I wasn't crazy for believing in the streak, yet you tried to convince me it wasn't real. Is that what you did to Barry before he was the Flash? Dad, did you take Barry to psychiatrists knowing that he wasn't crazy and that people like what he described existed?"

"Iris, of course not. I didn't believe it to be possible until I saw Barry run. Don't be mad at him, I made him promise not to tell you."

"Is Eddie okay?" Barry said as he walked into the living room where Iris sat. "I didn't get there fast enough. I'm sorry."

"He's fine, but you might not be. Sit down." Barry winced but did as she said.

"I really am sorry. I wanted to tell you. It- it was just too dangerous."

"Don't, don't give me that 'It was too dangerous' speech. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"Iris, I care about you. I'm always going to be worried about even though I know you've been able to take guys down since we were little. You're my best friend and if there is anything I can do to minimize the number of people that come after you, I will do it. I won't care if it's a stupid idea." Barry was praying for her to understand. "I'm so-"

"I know you're sorry, Barry. I'm sorry too. I just need some time to process this." Iris left for her room and Barry went home.

After a few days Iris came to visit Barry at the station.

"Is that really why? Do you really care about me that much?" Barry looked toward Iris and realized she was crying. He immediately knew what she meant.

"Yeah. I do," Iris opened her arms and Barry hugged her until she was done crying.


	5. Chapter 5

**So many prompts and reviews you guys are awesome.  
>Prompt from guest. Iris finds out after watching Flash be demasked on tv.<strong>

Iris had woken up feeling like crap. There was no way that she could go to work. Not today. Besides she was due for a day off, it just sucked that she couldn't use it to chase the Flash.

_Oh well_, she thought, _I can chase him later._

Iris came downstairs to make a cup of coffee and possibly breakfast. She was still in her pajamas.

As she sat down with her cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, she turned on the TV.

_Let's see just how useless we can make this day. _

She flipped through channel after channel finding nothing interesting to watch finally she just settled on watching the news. It was just as depressing as it was every day, but at least it was something.

She watched without paying attention for a while. Then something caught her eye, something she had trained herself to notice. There was a flash in the corner of the screen. She looked up and saw live footage of a police chase. The Flash had come to the rescue.

Iris watched as the passenger in the car the police were chasing turned to shoot at the police car. Then the Flash interrupted. He ran toward the gunman. He dropped the driver on the side of the road and went back for the shooter. When the Flash returned with the gunman, the driver attacked. The police pulled over and went to help. It was Joe and Eddie.

The Flash was outnumbered as the gunman got up to fight. He moved like lightning. One of the men pulled off his hood in the fight. He started to vibrate his face.

Iris rewound the TV to see if she could catch a glimpse of his face. She could. Iris had too many thoughts and emotions competing for attention inside her mind for her to think. Barry Allen was in a lot of trouble. How long had he been lying to her?

The Flash, no Barry, had the two men pinned down and the police cuffed them. Her boyfriend dragged the two men to the cruiser while her father gestured to her best friend to run. And so he did.

_When they get home, they are in big trouble. _

**Not my best. Sorry, love ya'll.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Prompt from Microraptor Glider. Iris figures it out on her own and goes to confront Barry about it.**

Iris sat at her laptop thinking about how to write her newest blog post. She had seen the Flash rescue a child from the community swimming pool. He could run on water, and he seemed confident about doing it so he must have done it before she thought.

Iris got thinking about the first time she saw his face. He had smiled at her. It was almost as if he knew her. Almost as if he wanted her to recognize him even if he couldn't tell her. No, she must be going crazy.

But, what if she wasn't?

He cared about her safety. He had shown himself to her after she put her name on her blog. The same day Barry and her father were pressuring her to stop it. He seemed almost comfortable around her. He seemed like he was trying to impress her, to show her all he could do, but he was new to being cocky.

When she was around him she had an overwhelming urge to smile. He reminded her of someone. He reminded her of Barry. Barry Allen.

_Oh my gosh, _Iris suddenly realized why the Flash cared about her, why Barry, the seeker of the impossible, wanted her to stop looking for the Flash, and why her best friend had been acting so strangely. Barry Allen is the Flash.

She needed to talk to that lying sneak. She got in her car and drove to STAR Labs.

"Barry Lucas **(?)** Allen!" Iris shouted as she entered the main room. She turned to Caitlyn and Cisco. "Where is he? I know he's here."

"Iris?" Barry said walking into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you have something you want to tell me?" she demanded.

"I'm confused. Why are you so mad at me?"

"Because you've been keeping secrets from me."

"What secret?" Barry seemed to be getting suspicious. His eyes flicked over to a panel in the wall.

Iris walked over to the panel and Barry's eyes widened. She knew what she would find.

She was right. When she opened the panel she saw the red suit with the lightning bolt symbols.

"It's true. You really are the Flash. You've been lying to me. How long has this been going on?"

Cisco and Caitlyn sat at their desk and silently watching the scene unfold. Dr. Wells rolled in.

"Ms. West it's nice to see you again."

"Dr. Wells, what have you been letting him into?"

"Ms. West we do everything we can to keep Barry safe. I can assure you."

"I need to talk to him alone."

Dr. Wells nodded. Iris walked out of the room followed by the wounded puppy.

"Barry, I'm your best friend. Why didn't you tell me? And if you dare say-"

"But it was to keep you safe. There are other people like me, but most of them aren't good people. They will not hesitate to hurt someone to get to me. The things I've been doing, saving people, stopping bad people, these other metahumans, don't appreciate it. They will hurt you to get to me if they think you know. I need you to be safe, please." Iris looked into his puppy dog eyes. They were begging for her to understand and forgive him.

"Barry, I just wish you would have told me."

"Me too, but please, you have to understand that I couldn't."

"I understand that you were afraid to. I understand that you thought you were doing what was right, but you still could have told me, Barry, you can _always_ tell me _anything_. You have to understand that."


	7. Chapter 7

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Iris, Eddie, Joe, and Barry are having a private party for Iris's birthday when some metahuman crashes the party wanting revenge on Joe for having put him or an accomplice (could be a brother) in jail. With his power the metahuman is able seal them in one room with no way out. Barry ends up saving the day while revealing his identity to Eddie and Iris.**

Iris had a bad feeling about this birthday. Her father, Eddie, and Barry were planning something and she knew it. As secretive as they tried to be, she knew them all too well for them to be successful.

She wasn't uneasy about the surprise. No, something else was going on.

When she visited Barry at work he seemed distracted, but he smiled that smile that only he could give and wished her a happy birthday.

"Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" Iris already knew that he was helping plan a special dinner for her birthday, but she didn't want him to know that she knew.

The problem with knowing people so well that you can read them like an open book; they tend to know you that well too.

"You already know that I am. I wouldn't miss your birthday for anything."

"Is everything okay, Barry? You keep looking at your work."

"Yeah sorry. It's just . . . one of your Dad's old cases. One of the more violent people he arrested broke out last night and I want to get everything settled before your birthday dinner."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it then."

"Barry, any progress?" Eddie called as he walked in. "Hey Iris, can't wait for tonight."

Iris chuckled silently.

"Get back to work you two."

"Bye Iris." They called at her retreating form.

Joe was beyond mad. He knew that this particular criminal hated him more than any other. Why did this have to happen on his baby girl's birthday?

He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until this criminal was back behind bars, but he knew that it was unlikely to happen before Iris's "surprise" dinner.

Joe was right, pyromaniac Zach Harris was still free by the time he had to leave the station to be on time for dinner. As it was he had to let Barry borrow his car and pick up Iris to take her to the restaurant.

Joe was still worked up about the case but he made it through dinner without causing a scene, so he thought he was doing pretty well.

Iris's conversation with Barry at the station and how tense her dad was added to her earlier uneasiness, but she tried to let herself have a good time. It was her birthday for goodness's sake, she would enjoy it. She had her three favorite people around her.

When they arrived back at her house, they ate the cake (store bought as none of them were particularly good at baking). They spent several hours playing games and talking. Iris even got away with talking about the Flash without a lecture. She was once again baffled by how uncomfortable Barry was with the subject, but he let her talk.

"Did you invite someone else?" Iris asked.

"No why?" Barry asked suspiciously.

"It's probably nothing. I just thought I heard the door open."

"You three stay here." Before Joe even got up the fire alarms went off.

"Harris." Eddie stated. There was no denying it.

Barry checked the doors. "Joe, he melted the handles. There are fingerprints in them."

"Are you saying what I think you are? Because I really hope you aren't."

"No such luck." Joe sighed his kids and his daughter's boyfriend were stuck in a room with an insane metahuman with a grudge against him.

Iris screamed. Her mouth was immediately covered.

"So this is the cop's daughter. Hello detective." Zach Harris gave him a cruel smile. "Long time, no see."

"Let my daughter go." Joe started walking toward the desk where he kept a spare gun.

"Don't try anything stupid." Harris lit his hand on fire and held it close Iris. "You wouldn't want me to mess up this one's face.

"You son of a-" Eddie started.

"Now, now. The deal goes for you too." Harris snarled.

"Enough." Barry said. "You don't want to do this."

"You don't get it do you?" he gave a small laugh. "I'm not using any tools to light this fire. It's just me. I am fire. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Actually, a lot of things counteract fire. You can smother it, throw water or baking soda on it, use a fire extinguisher, or a few other things."

"Enough, why does a beautiful girl like you keep a nerd like that around?" He moved his burning hand closer to where Iris was, but she was gone.

Barry set her down behind Joe.

"I said enough." Barry narrowed his eyes.

His glare had little effect on the other metahuman. Zach Harris lit himself on fire.

Barry ran in small circles around him. Zach pushed the flames out further trying to get him to back off, but slowly the flames went out and Harris fell to the ground.

"How-?" Eddie asked.

"The tight circles cut off his air supply, smothering his flames and making him pass out. I need to eat something." Barry looked like he was ready to pass out.

"You didn't eat Cisco's calorie bar today did you?" Joe asked his kid.

"No,"

"Why are you guys talking about food? Look at him he needs to get to the hospital!" Iris shouted looking at the left side of his body. He had been badly burned.

"Iris, its fine, it'll heal."

"Barry, burns like that barely heal _with_ medical attention. Maybe Caitlyn and Dr. Wells can do something about it?" Iris was still panicking.

"I heal fast, and I get burns every time I run without the suit. Though usually I don't have to heal from the smoke inhalation too, so it might take a little while longer."

Barry treated the whole situation like it was normal which, Iris guessed, it must be, at least for him.

"What else can you do?" Eddie asked with childlike amazement.

"If I have enough space I can make a sonic boom. I can vibrate my vocal chords to change my voice." He demonstrated the last one making Joe laugh and Iris glare. "Iris already knows about that one. I can run on water."

"What's your top speed?" Eddie prodded.

"The fastest I've gone so far is moch 1.1, which is a little over 800 miles per hour."

"Whoa. Is that how you punched through the punching bag?"

"You did what?" Iris finally pulled through her shock.

""Yeah, I didn't know I could do that. That was before I really had to speed punch people."

"How many people are there that are . . . like you?"

"The term is metahumans, and we don't really know."

"This has been a great interview, thanks!"

"Do not post this, Iris!"

"I know. I think it's safe to say this has been the most eventful birthday I have ever had."


	8. Chapter 8

**Prompt from Majelic. Iris and Barry go to a club. Iris gets drunk, Barry takes her home, and when Barry thinks she's asleep, he starts whispering to her all the things that he would love to tell her when she's awake., but he doesn't know that she's listening, and then they are now, facing the truth, seeing each other.**

Iris had had a long day at work and was glad it was the weekend. Barry was off for the weekend too, supposedly.

Barry said he would be available to hang out with her tonight, and she had a plan to keep him away from work.

Barry walked into the room as quietly as he could. "BOO!" he yelled coming up behind her. She didn't even jump, but he wasn't surprised.

"So I hear there's a really cool club in Starling City. I thought we could go there tonight."

"Verdant?"

"Yeah, that one."

"This had better not be an attempt to get me together with Felicity." Barry looked at her suspiciously.

"It's not, I promise." _Dang, _she thought, _that would have been a good idea._ "You do actually have to drive because I don't know where it is."

"I can do that." Barry smiled.

He left the room saying he had to call someone.

Barry called Cisco to tell them he would be in Starling that night and depending on just how bad Iris's day had been, possibly tomorrow morning.

"Okay you ready to go?" Barry said as he walked back into the living room.

"Yep, let's go."

Barry drove them down to Starling City. He and Iris sang along to the radio. They slipped into that level of comfort that they only ever achieved when it was just the two of them being themselves.

They arrived at the club and would have had to wait in a long line but Barry had some good friends in Starling.

"Hey kid." A familiar voice said from next to him.

"Oh my gosh. You, you're Oliver Queen!" Iris said.

"Yep." Oliver replied simply. "Come on kid. You probably shouldn't be out in the cold."

"Are you serious?" Barry asked.

"Yeah."

Oliver started walking away, then he turned and beckoned to them. "Come on. I don't bite."

Barry started walking toward him, but Iris grabbed his arm.

"Is Oliver Queen really helping us line jump at a club?"

"Yeah, come on." Barry replied and they caught up with Oliver and walked right up to the front of the line.

"Thea's got you on door duty?" Oliver laughed at the boy in the red sweatshirt.

"Trevor's sick. I volunteered to work the door." The boy replied. "And I'm trying to get her to like me again."

"Didn't need the last part, Roy. I'll talk to you later." Oliver walked through the door and Barry and Iris followed.

They walked up to the main bar.

The bartender looked up at them. "Hey Ollie," The girl said as Oliver kissed her cheek. "Laurel joined the party since I called you. I didn't even give her anything alcoholic."

"Where are they, Speedy?" Oliver asked wincing.

'Speedy' pointed to the corner of the club where Barry saw Felicity and another girl "dancing" obviously drunk. Barry started laughing and Iris followed his gaze.

"Is that Felicity?" Iris asked.

"Yes, yes it is."

"If she got that drunk tonight, we are getting wasted, and you don't even get a say in this. I will seriously drug you."

_You can certainly try. _He thought to himself as he watched Oliver catch Felicity when she started to fall over. He tossed a girl over each shoulder and walked toward the door. _If she gets that drunk, tonight might get very interesting._

The bartender turned to Barry and Iris. "Am I going to have to keep my brother on standby for you guys, too?"

"We should be good, I hold my liquor pretty well." _Too well._ Barry thought.

"Ok."

Iris was true to her word, she got as drunk as Felicity, and then she had a few drinks more.

"Ok, maybe it's time to get you home, Iris."

"No, you're not drunk yet. I'm keeping you home this weekend even if it involves giving you a hangover." Iris slurred her words and sounded like she was barely talking at all.

"I will spend the whole weekend with you if you want, but someone has to be able to drive us home. I'm a little afraid of Oliver coming to pick us up."

Ok, fine but . . ." Iris passed out in the middle of her sentence.

Barry picked her up bridal style and carried her to her car. It seemed odd to him how normal it felt to carry her now. He had done it so many times as the Flash. Barry quickly learned that it was easier to put her down on her feet while she was conscious, than to put her into a car while she was unconscious. He must have banged her head on the side of the car at least three times, but soon enough she was buckled in, and Barry was driving back home.

Getting her put of the car was much easier than getting her in. He carried her into her house and up to her bedroom. He took her shoes off and gently placed her into her bed. He sat there and watched her peaceful form and worried about how much worse of a headache she would have tomorrow because of him.

"Iris? Are you still asleep?" He was met with silence.

"There are so many things that I wish I could tell you. I listen to you talk about the Flash and there have been times that I have come _so close_ to telling you that it's me, but I just can't do it. It would put you in even more danger than your blog does. But that's not it. I- I love you Iris. Not just as a friend or a sibling. I love you. I don't really have a reasonable excuse for that one. I've always just been afraid to tell you. I've been afraid that it would change everything. That it would ruin our friendship. I can't risk losing you, Iris. I just can't."

"Too much for a drunk girl to take in Barry." Barry's head shot straight up.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"You are the Flash, you are in love with me, and you are in trouble, possibly even dead."

"I'm sorry Iris. I really did want to tell you, but, but it was too dangerous and too daunting, and-"

"Barry, there is nothing you could do to ruin our relationship." Iris sat up, but she still looked dizzy. "Not even this." She leaned into him and their lips met.

The kiss was short and sweet.

"You should get some actual sleep now, Iris."

"You too bear. Let's see if I can wake up in the morning."

"It is morning."

"I hate smart people!" Iris shouted as she turned into her pillow.

Barry kissed her on her forehead and left.

Joe was going to kill him. Or congratulate him, but most likely kill him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. The Flash dying in her arms reveals he's Barry. **

Today was not a very good day and it was barely ten. Barry had been woken up at three in the morning by a call from Cisco saying that there had been a shooting. Then he had gone to lab for tests and training. He still couldn't beat Dr. Wells at chess and he was beginning to wonder if he would be able to beat him even if he wasn't focused on two other games. Then Barry had to go to work where he had to deal with a case involving a corpse that had been shot several times in the chest.

That's where he was now, at a crime scene gathering evidence that was at least four days old judging by the smell of the body.

Barry leaned down to inspect some footprints. "The person we're looking for wears a women's 9."

"We're looking for a woman." Joe clarified.

"Or a cross-dresser." Said the new officer who was getting on the job training from Joe and Eddie. Barry hated him. He was disrespectful and made comments like that constantly.

"I'll be glad when he finishes his training." Joe said kneeling down next to him. "Yesterday he said, 'Too bad you only have one daughter because if you had two Eddie and I could each have one.' I might kill him before he finishes training."

"I could ask the Arrow to take care of him." Barry suggested.

"Don't even joke. Get back to work." Joe said, standing up.

"Wasn't joking." Barry said under his breath.

Barry continued to collect evidence and then headed back to his lab at the station.

He couldn't come up with anything concrete. He would have to go back to the scene again tomorrow. It was already dark outside so he wouldn't be able to do anything now.

Barry decided to check Iris's blog, and it was good that he did. Otherwise it might have been too late. The latest post was a call to him.

"If you ever want to see your little blogger again you'll come to Jitters after closing." It had been posted fifteen minutes ago and Jitters would have closed less than two minutes ago.

He changed into his Flash suit and ran over Jitters at just below Mach 1. Iris was in danger.

When he got there he saw a man with a gun standing over Iris. Her hands were tied behind her back.

"Sorry, just got your message." Barry said as he appeared behind the gunman. "Let her go."

"Why do people always say that? No one is just going to hand over a hard earned hostage for nothing in return."

"What do you want in return?"

"Oh, you misunderstand that was an example. I don't plan to release her. The point is to kill her and destroy you. You see I don't want you dead. I want you broken."

"And why is that?"

"You're the biggest threat to crime in Central City, congratulations by the way-"

"Thanks?" Barry answered uncertainly.

"Your wel-" Barry quickly untied Iris. "-come, but because of it I need to be the one to get you out of the way, but I respect you too much to kill you."

"I'm flattered, really, but I'm not going to let you kill Iris. Nothing personal towards you though. Ok?"

"We'll see what happens." The gunman suggested. Barry found himself wishing that this would be the weirdest conversation he would ever have, but considering he got super speed from being struck by lightning he doubted it would be.

Iris stood up and the gunman took aim and pulled the trigger. Barry ran toward Iris, but he wasn't quite fast enough.

The bullet lodged in his heart. He could feel that it wouldn't heal like other injuries. This was his last run, and he would protect Iris no matter what.

Barry attacked the gunman. He tried not to cry out because of the pain of the wound, he didn't want to worry Iris before he had finished what he needed to do. The wound affected his fighting and speed. It took him a full minute to discard the man's gun and tie him up.

"Thank you, he almost shot me you-you stopped the bullet. You saved my life."

"Stopped the bullet is an interesting way to put it. I'm sorry, Iris, I'm sorry I was late, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I'm sorry you have to see this." Barry fell to the floor and he was losing blood quickly.

"Oh my gosh." Iris began to panic. "What do I need to do?"

"There's nothing you can do. I heal really fast, but this is too bad a wound. It's not healing at all. I'm dying, Iris."

"No, no, you're going to be okay. I'm going to call an ambulance."

"The police will have heard the shot and will be on their way. I'll be dead before they even get here."

"Don't talk like that. You _will _be ok." Iris was trying to hold back her tears but some managed to fall to the dying form of her best friend.

"Just stay with me."

"Of course."

Barry stopped changing his voice. "I really am sorry, Iris."

"Barry?"

He just managed a small nod and he was gone. Iris cradled his head and let her tears flow. Her best friend had died tonight because of her.

The police showed up a few minutes later, but it was too late. Her dad and Eddie stormed into the coffee shop and saw Iris kneeling over the unmoving form of a man in a red lightning suit. Joe fell to his knees beside his daughter and looked down at his son. Eddie knelt on Iris's other side not understanding the full scope of the conversation.

"No, no this can't be real."

"Daddy, he's gone, he's really gone this time." Iris began to cry even harder. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"No it's not baby. And he wouldn't want you to think that."

"Iris, I know the Flash meant a lot to you, but everything is going to be ok." Eddie tried to reassure her.

Iris pulled off the mask to show Barry's face. Eddie was mortified. "No, Eddie, everything will not 'be ok.' I killed my best friend."

Joe held iris close and pointed to the man that was now being dragged out by their trainee. "That man over there killed Barry. Not you. Don't even for a second think that this is your fault."

"I started that blog, and I kept going even after you both tried to get me to stop. I brought that man into our lives. Barry came to save _me._ That gun was aimed at my heart, Dad. He ran in front of me, but it was too late. Daddy he- he's gone forever."

"Iris, I'm sorry, but it's not your fault, and I may not have known him as well as you, but I know he wouldn't think it's your fault." Eddie tried to comfort his girlfriend. "He would have been happy to sacrifice anything for you even his life."

"He would have sacrificed himself for you in less than a heartbeat, Iris. Eddie's right, he would have been happy to do it."

Iris continued to cry, but she knew they were right, yet she didn't think she would ever stop crying.

Today had been the worst day of Iris's life. She had lost her best friend, and she could never get him back.


	10. Chapter 10

**Prompt form KaMi-HiMe BVB. The Flash was framed for murder and is powerless and being held at gunpoint by Eddie who thinks he's protecting Iris. He shoots Barry and Iris rushes to his side and finds out he's Barry.**

Slight AU Barry never got his powers back in Blackout.

A very unusual case landed on Joe's desk. An anonymous tip had been called in about a murder. The report said that a red-ish yellow blur had been seen running away from the body.

Joe knew that couldn't be Barry, he didn't have his powers anymore. So, who could it have been?

_The man who killed Nora Allen. _Joe realized. _He had powers like Barry's, and he had killed before. _

Eddie, Joe, and Barry went to inspect the crime scene.

"So, the report said that a red-ish yellow blur killed him?"

"Mhmm." Joe answered.

"Are we thinking this is Iris's 'Flash'? It makes the most sense of anything." Eddie suggested. Barry froze.

"No one has heard from the Flash in a week, not even Iris. Besides, if 'the Flash' does exist, he has only ever saved people. What would make this person any different from anyone else in this city? I don't think he would kill anyone. Iris describes him as a slightly cocky Barry."

"She never said that to me." Barry looked confused.

"I thought it was pretty funny when she told me that, and a little disturbed."

Eddie looked over at Barry. "Are you the Flash, Barry?" He said with mock suspicion.

"I plead the fifth." Barry replied in a similar tone, expect he was a little more nervous. Joe gave him an amused look and mouthed 'watch it.'

"You still have to admit that he's a suspect unless there are more super speed people out there."

Joe visibly winced. "Yeah, we'll have to look for him." Joe mouthed an apology to Barry.

"Iris is not going to be happy about that." Barry reminded them.

"Why don't you tell her if it comes to that, Barry?" Eddie suggested.

"I'm just forensic scientist. You guys do the investigating, not me."

"That's enough get back to work." Joe said, shaking his head at the two boys.

"There is nothing here but dust. But, there are no foot prints. How is that possible?"

"I suggest you find out, Barry."

"The victim wasn't killed here. Based off pf the wounds there should be a lot more blood than there is. Unless we're looking for a super speed vampire that can hover above the ground, there must be another crime scene."

"We'll alert the precinct." Joe responded.

"We should have Iris post a request to meet with the Flash. Just for questioning." Eddie suggested to Joe.

"If you're ok being the one to ask her."

"I'm dead." Eddie said as he pulled out his phone to call his girlfriend and so to be murderer.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Iris said sitting inside Jitters with Eddie after closing. "This is betrayal in every form. If he forgives me, it will be a miracle."

"I'm not going to arrest him, yet." Iris punched Eddie in the arm and he winced.

The Flash walked into Jitters.

"Are you ok?" Iris asked noticing that he had walked in.

"Other than having lost my powers in the power outage last week, I'm ok. That's why I couldn't help you when Tockman had you. I'm sorry about that, by the way." He said using a voice modulator he had borrowed from the Arrow.

"See, Eddie, he can't be your murderer. The reason he was a suspect was his speed. He doesn't have it anymore, he can go."

"He's lying."

"What makes you say that, Eddie?" Barry asked. He started to walk toward Eddie, and Eddie pulled his gun stepping in front of Iris.

"Iris said you vibrated your voice to disguise it, right? You're still doing it." Barry continued to walk toward him.

"This is a voice modulator. I borrowed it from a friend. I didn't think it would a good idea to let you hear my voice. At least one of you would recognize it." Barry took another step closer to Eddie and Iris.

"Don't come any closer."

"Eddie, you're being ridiculous. He's not going to hurt me. He has saved my life over and over again. That doesn't seem like a murderer to me."

"To me it seems like he let you deal with Tockman on your own so that he could claim to have lost his powers, so he wouldn't be a suspect when he used his powers to murder and innocent man."

"I don't care that you're accusing me of murder. It's hard enough to understand that there is one person with super speed, two or more is almost impossible to accept, but even if I had it in me to kill someone, I would never leave Iris in danger if there was anything I could do about it." Barry's voice was hard. He took another step and Eddie shot at him.

The bullet hit his left shoulder. Iris rushed out from behind Eddie to where the Flash lie bleeding on the ground.

Eddie walked over still pointing the gun at the Flash.

"You can put that away. I don't heal fast anymore. Gosh, how does the Arrow deal with getting shot so often? This hurts, like really bad."

That was when Barry noticed that the voice modulator was broken.

"Barry?" Iris asked, panicked. He nodded. "Eddie call an ambulance. NOW!"

Eddie stood shell shocked. "You didn't kill that man."

"Nope."

"Joe didn't believe you were a suspect."

"Nope."

"Ambulance now!" Iris shouted.

"NO. No ambulance, no hospital, just take me to STAR Labs. It's safer that way. Also Caitlyn and Dr. Wells are less likely to dissect me because of my warped DNA."

"Ok." Iris said though she was very confused by the mention of 'warped DNA.' "Eddie, help me carry him to the car."

"I'm sorry, Barry." Eddie said as he lifted him up. Barry wasn't sure if it was for shooting him, not believing him, or moving him which hurt almost as much as the first shot.

"Oww," Was all Barry managed before the world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Eddie and Iris catch him using his super speed. (They walk in on him at work.)**

Barry walked into work five minutes late, which was an improvement, but the captain still wouldn't be happy, so he tried to sneak upstairs without anyone noticing. He wished he could have just run up to his lab, but it was better to face the captain's wrath than Joe's. Joe was still annoyed that Barry had been using his speed as a centrifuge, but didn't make him stop because it got him faster results that gave them more time to actually catch the bad guys. After today though, he probably would never be allowed to do it again.

Barry got to his lab with few people noticing, fortunately the captain was not among them. He started analyzing the evidence from his latest case. His centrifuge was broken so he glanced around and didn't see anyone. He started shaking the vials by hand. He had to do this with twenty three test tubes and record his findings from it so, even with his super speed, it took a while.

"Are you almost done Flash?" Barry's heart stopped. He didn't hear her come in. He looked up and knew he was dead when he saw Iris and Eddie looking down at him.

"I can explain." He said. "No I can't. I'm sorry."

"Do you do that with all your cases?" Eddie asked.

"Most of them." He answered and Eddie began to laugh.

"Does my dad know about this?" Iris asked daring him to lie to her again.

"Yeah. He found out when I untwisted Mardon's tornado." Barry shrunk into himself under her glare.

"Barry, I need you to-" Joe said walking into the lab. Iris's glare turned toward him. "Barry what did you do?"

"They saw me being my own centrifuge. I'm sorry. I didn't hear them come in."

"Why didn't you close the door if you were going to use your speed?" Joe demanded.

"Well, the door was closed, we knocked but I guess he was focused." Eddie tried to lift a little of the pressure off of Barry. He liked Barry. Even if he was a little jealous of his and Iris's relationship, he didn't want the kid dead. He had become like a brother to Eddie.

"I'm sorry." Barry repeated.

"Someone was bound to find out anyway. Just be glad it wasn't the captain."

"Just be glad the captain didn't find out what." The captain said walking in.

_Why is he here? He never comes to my office._ Barry thought.

Joe stumbled trying to think of something reasonable to tell the captain.

"I came in late again. Sorry." Barry pretended to wince, but really he was glad the captain didn't come in even a minute earlier.

"I assumed. Be on time tomorrow."

"So what did you come in for?" Barry asked and things went back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be when you can run faster than the speed of sound.

**Sorry this one was short.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 10 part 2 requested by Starlight3743.**

As Barry walked into the lab carrying a bleeding Barry, Caitlyn looked like she might strangle the weak, injured man.

"What did you do Barry?" Caitlyn shouted.

"What happened?" Dr. Wells asked as he came into the room. "Take him to the medical room. It's through there." He pointed down the hall and headed that direction himself.

Eddie and Iris followed. Eddie set Barry down on the patient bed and Caitlyn got to work.

"The wound is already starting to heal around the bullet so I'm going to have to reopen it. It's going to hurt." Caitlyn warned.

"Can't you give him a pain killer or a sedative." Iris practically screamed.

"No, for the same reason he eats four times as much as a normal person and is healing around a bullet from a very recent wound. Please let me concentrate."

Iris began to cry as she saw Barry in pain from the operation. She couldn't stand to watch but held his hand through it anyway. He was well enough to go home within an hour and Iris made him stay in his old room in her house, so she could make sure he was okay even if she had been assured he was fine multiple times by his doctors.

~Just realized my line breaks don't show up~

Barry walked into STAR Labs the next day with Eddie and Iris in tow. He had called ahead to explain that he would be bringing them to Dr. Wells and needless to say, Barry was not on the nice list today.*

"Your punishment is two hours on the treadmill, you and Caitlyn will be playing Monopoly instead of Operation, clue against Eddie, and Scrabble against Iris." Cisco said as they all walked in.

"That's a punishment?" Iris asked. "Well, I guess I understand the treadmill part."

"All at once, Iris." Barry deadpanned.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I have to play chess against Dr. Wells, ping pong against Cisco, Monopoly against Caitlyn, Scrabble against Iris, and Clue against you, and I have to do it all at once to test how quickly I can switch between tasks. The treadmill is the easy part of my days off." He explained to Eddie and Iris. Then he turned to Caitlyn. "What does he want me to start with?"

Caitlyn gestured to the room with the treadmill without looking at Barry, she was as mad as him as Dr. Wells was. She went to monitor speed and vitals while Barry got on the treadmill.

"This is fun. We basically increase the speed of my treadmill until he flies off of it." Cisco said with more enthusiasm than Iris thought reasonable when her best friend was about to be thrown off a treadmill at intense speeds.

"I keep telling him to let us know when it's getting too hard, but he never lets us know, so he flies off either when he gets distracted or it gets too fast. Usually it's the first one." Caitlyn clarified. "Okay Barry, I'm starting it at 100mph." Caitlyn said into the mic. Then she typed the number into the computer and Barry started running. She quickly but steadily increased the speed to 750mph. "Twenty more mph and he will break the sound barrier." Caitlyn told his stunned friends.

"How fast have you seen him go?" Iris asked.

"I've seen him reach about 800, but he usually gets distracted by this point. You've seen him go faster than I have though."

"I have?" Iris said in surprise.

"When he was fighting Tony he had to go about 837mph. He had to get a straight shot from 5.3 miles away to reach that speed."

"What's he at now?" Eddie asked in amazement, staring at the awkward scientist turned superhero.

Caitlyn had set the program to increase the speed by 1mph every two minutes. She looked down to see how high it had gotten while they had been talking.

"Doctor Wells get in here now!" Caitlyn shouted into the intercom.

"Is he ok?" Iris asked getting increasingly worried at her best friend as Caitlyn watched him with wide eyes not telling them how fast Barry was going.

"What is it Caitlyn?" Doctor Wells said as he rolled into the room.

"Look." She said simply.

Dr. Wells turned to look at Eddie and Iris. "Well he's putting on an impressive show for you. He's reaching records speeds. Currently he's at 982mph. Cisco what have you built the treadmill to withstand?"

"Not anything over a thousand. I will change that after ping pong."

"Get him off, Caitlyn."

"Barry, time's up. I'm going to slow you dow-" Caitlyn spoke into the microphone, unfortunately for Barry that was enough of a distraction to send him flying.

"I broke something!" Barry called as if it was completely normal, which according to Cisco it was.

"I think he broke a lot of somethings." Caitlyn murmured under her breath. "Eddie, can you help me carry him to the medical room. Cisco dropped him last time."

"Yeah, of course." Eddie headed to the treadmill room and scooped Barry up.

Iris turned to Cisco. "You _dropped_ Barry."

"Please don't hurt me."

* * *

><p>Barry was not thrilled by having to lie down for four hours waiting to heal from three broken ribs and a shattered femur with Iris hovering over him, but now he was up and ready for his multitasking exercises.<p>

"Are you ready Mr. Allen?" Dr. Wells asked when all five games were set up. "You already broke your record speed for your friends, so I expect you to do better than usual despite the extra games."

"I'll do my best. Your serve Cisco."

And Barry was off he was doing well in ping pong and then ran over to get a seven letter word right off the bat in Scrabble. He made his move in chess and ran back to ping pong where he got a point after two hits. He went to play his least favorite game, Monopoly- a really weird punishment considering he had never told anyone he didn't like the game- and memorized his cards in clue before volleying a few times with Cisco. Then he ran to chess with Dr. Wells. The cycle went on for nearly an hour. By the end Barry had won everything except chess at least once.

"One of these days I need to play chess with you without the other games. I'm not sure I could beat you even then." Barry commented.

"Maybe someday, Mr. Allen."

"Ok."

"Go home, and maybe try to keep your secret a secret, Barry." Dr. Wells said with a cool stare. "Be careful."

"So that's how you've been spending your days off." Eddie said as the trio walked out of the lab.

"Days off, mornings, nights, and breaks, except for Saturday morn-" Barry knew he had made a big mistake by adding that last part.

"And on Saturday nights you do what, exactly?" Iris said with a deadly calm voice.

"Uh, that's when ItrainwiththeArrowandhisteam."**

"What was that?" Eddie asked.

"I train with the Arrow and his team."

"And you got after me for putting myself in danger?" Barry just couldn't stop digging a hole for himself.

"He hasn't threatened to kill me since I first found out who he was, and he was only mad because _he _wasn't the one that told me." Crap he did it again.

"Why was he not the one to tell you?" Eddie asked. How deep did they want him to dig?

"He was dying, his partner kidnapped me from the train station, and his IT girl asked me to save his life, and I saw him without his hood. Please stop asking me questions." Barry was nervous and he had a feeling he would have worse punishments than Monopoly for everything he had said today.

***Just in case nobody got that, Tom Cavenaugh played Santa Claus on the movie Snow, I couldn't resist. It's on Netflix, watch it. He says snowflakes as a curse word several times and I keep picturing Dr. Wells saying that and it kills me.**

****Headcanon**


	13. Chapter 13

**Prompt from Guest. Iris is looking for Barry in his lab but can't find him and sees his STAR Labs shirt and goes there to find out his secret after he's done on the treadmill.**

Barry had left work an hour earlier to go to STAR Labs forgetting Iris was going to pick him up from work for family dinner at her house. Iris was getting really annoyed with how forgetful he was lately. She tried to be understanding because he had had a horrible year, but it seemed like something more. It seemed like he was hiding something, a big part of his life. He had never hidden anything from her before. Ever. So when she found that he was not in his lab, or anywhere in the station, or out at a crime scene, she was mad.

Iris looked around his lab for clues as to where he would have been. She tried to be quiet in case her father also came looking for Barry, but no one ever came.

She found the answer in plain sight. A sweatshirt sat his desk chair and spelled out the words STAR Labs. Now she had a place to look.

On the drive she thought about all the reasons why Barry would be back at the place he was treated during his coma. None of her thoughts were good. Were there lasting effects that he was afraid to tell her about? Was this why Barry kept forgetting things? Because he had brain damage from the lightning bolt? Was Barry still in danger? Could she still lose her best friend?

She walked into Star Labs and saw something she was not expecting. The Flash was on a treadmill. It seemed so ordinary other than the fact you could barely tell it was a human being running instead of just a normal person running five miles an hour trying to lose weight.

Caitlyn, Cisco, and Dr. Wells seemed to be monitoring his speed and vitals. Iris didn't understand the numbers on the various machines, but she doubted they were normal.

"Well, I came to find Barry. Where is he?" Iris said after a few minutes of no one noticing her presence.

Cisco yelped and turned to face her, but he seemed to have hit a few problematic buttons in the process because the Flash nearly doubled speed and seemed to be losing balance. After a few minutes he flew off the treadmill. Oops.

"What the heck, guys? What happened to gradually upping the speed? That was not gradual. I think I broke my ribs again. And I'm late for dinner. Iris is going to kill me. She was going to pick me up at the station. I've got to get over there. How am I going to do that with broken ribs? Now I'm babbling like Felicity."

"I'm not sure dinner is the worst of your problems right now Barry." Caitlyn said through his earpiece.

"You're going to need to clarify. I can't stand up to see what you're looking at."

"I'm going to call Joe." Dr. Wells said excusing himself.

"Hi, Bear." Iris said into the mic.

"My killer's last name is West. I don't know which one will be the one to kill me, but I'm sure both will participate."

"You're not helping your case Barry Allen." Iris said in that tone Barry had grown to fear. The sickly sweet voice that basically meant you were going to be lectured to death.

"If you come in here you can ask me all the questions you want. I promise to answer if you promise not to post it on your blog."

"Deal." Iris walked into the room where Barry lie writhing in pain on the floor. "Shouldn't you be under pain medication right now?"

"It doesn't work on me. My metabolism is too fast I burn right through it. I also can't get drunk for the same reason. Though Caitlyn is developing a super shot for me which might allow me to drink again."

"You said you broke your ribs again. I've never heard you talk about breaking your ribs. You would not have been able to hide that kind of injury at work or at home. I would have known."

"I heal quickly too. That's why no one really reacted when I flew off the treadmill again. My ribs are already starting to heal even though they still hurt." Iris noticed that he looked to be in less pain than when she walked into the room.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend." Iris looked plain hurt. There was no hiding it. Barry's attempts to protect her hurt her in a completely different way, but at least she was alive.

"I wanted to protect you. You were in enough danger because of your blog. Telling you . . . I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me. I just need you to be safe." Barry pleaded.

"You're still not off the hook, Barry. Get ready for dinner as soon as you can stand up."


	14. Chapter 14

**Over 50 reviews! I love you guys!**

**Prompt from Future Olympian. Caitlyn succeeds in getting Barry drunk at a mini-party with the gang there, and drunk Barry starts slipping up and using his speed without realizing it. **

**PS I have never had a drop of alcohol, been in a bar, or seen a drunk who was doing anything except puking or stumbling, so if I don't make this realistic, I'm sorry.**

Iris had invited Caitlyn and Cisco to go clubbing with her, Eddie, and Barry. Barry wasn't all that excited because he still couldn't get drunk, but he also couldn't let Iris know that he couldn't get drunk because that would raise questions that he couldn't answer truthfully. He was gearing up for another night of lies and pretending to be drunk enough to avoid suspicion, but he wanted to make Iris happy, so he would go and try to have a good time anyway.

When Barry showed up at the bar he joined the group and for the hundred millionth time in his life apologized for being late.

"Hi, Barry glad you could finally make it." Iris teased.

"Next time I won't be late."

"Sure, Allen." Eddie had taken to teasing him like a little brother lately*. "Anybody up for darts? West? Allen?"

Iris got up to play.

"No thanks, I plan on impairing my aim." Then as they walked away he murmured under his breath, "Or pretending to."

"I think I can help with that." She held up a few test tubes of liquid. "Flash poison 2.0."

"Reassuring name." Barry said as he took the first shot. "Woah!"

"Did it work?"

"Ask me again in a few minutes but for now yeah. Holy . . . wow . . ." A few minutes passed and Barry was still really high.

Cisco high-fived Caitlyn. "Now we get to see a drunk meta. This is going to be awesome." Cisco grinned ear to ear.

"Oh, crap. I didn't think of that! Cisco what if he reveals his powers because he's drunk."

"Don't be such a buzzkill, Caitlyn." Cisco said pushing a tray of shots toward her.

Within two hours the whole group was incredibly drunk and doing stupid stuff. They were so loud they were on the verge of being kicked out of the bar. They started to play truth or dare. That is never a good idea drunk or sober, human or meta-human.

"Barry, truth or dare?" Iris asked.

"Dare. Always."

Iris looked around for ideas. "I dare you to get three bottles of beer and juggle them."

"You know I can't juggle."

"Yeah, but it's fun to watch you try." Iris slurred.

"You're such a good friend." Barry slurred back.

Barry bought three bottles of beer to fail to juggle, but something strange happened he was able to catch and throw all of the bottles with a good rhythm and didn't drop any of them. Another drunk threw his now empty bottle at him and he adjusted his rhythm to accommodate it. He only stopped when he realized why he could juggle.

Joe had tested his reflexes to catch things when he lost and regained his powers. He had been using his powers to juggle without even knowing. Had his powers become that instinctual?

"I may need one of those bottles, Flash." Iris said staring at her best friend/hero in shock. She had become breathless being close to the flirty version of her best friend too many times to deal with this in front of her boyfriend.

"Me too. I need an excuse for Dr. Wells. I told you this was a mistake, Cisco." She turned to her excitable, nerdy friend but didn't see him. "Where is Cisco?"

"Down here. Help, please." Barry looked down and saw Cisco lying on the floor and helped him back into his chair.

"Stay, Cisco, stay."

"Barry you will talk to me in the morning, but for now-" That was all Iris managed to say before she passed out and started falling. Barry ran over to catch her.

"Guys, I think it's time to go home." Eddie suggested trying to stand up.

A waitress came over. "There are cabs at the back entrance. Go." She said trying not to laugh at the group. She shook her head as she walked away. How could she not the adorable one had only drank like two shots.

***Major Headcanon**

**Should I continue this story after the real reveal on the show?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Prompt from Guest. At the end of episode 7 Eddie isn't under as well Joe and Barry thought he was and remembers.**

Riiiiing, riiiiing.

Barry looked at his clock. 3:47.

_Who died? _Barry thought pessimistically then looked at his phone. It was the station someone probably did die, and now he felt kind of bad.

He answered his phone and was told he had to get to a crime scene in ten minutes.

Barry used his speed too get ready and across the city then he waited ten minutes to make what he did seem believable.

"Oh, Mr. Allen, I didn't really need you for another fifteen minutes. We're still cordoning off the area. I expected you to be later than this." The captain said as Barry walked into the alley that did not yet have the usual yellow tape around it.

"I'm working on it." Barry said a little indignant.

"I can see that. Good job." Somehow that still felt condescending.

Joe and Eddie were discussing the case in Barry's office. Eddie kept looking at Barry as if he was waiting for him to do something out of the ordinary.

"Eddie? You okay?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, partner, you keep looking at my kid as if he's an alien."

"I'm not a fan of pain killers."

"What does that have to do with me being an alien?" Barry asked joining the others at his desk.

Eddie pushed Barry's lamp of his desk and Barry ran to catch it out of habit. Eddie gave Joe a look that said, _That's why._

"Still not an alien." Barry said weakly as he watched Joe and Eddie's faces.

"But it does mean that you are Iris's 'Flash.'"

"Yeah." Barry sighed.

"How? How did I not notice before now? I'm a cop! Why did it take you using your powers in front of me when I was drugged to notice that you were a . . . a –"

"We're called metahumans."

"'We'?" Eddie's eyes widened. "There are more of you?"

"Yeah." Barry winced.

"How many?"

"We're not sure. We've run into a few so far."

"How many is 'a few?'"

"You don't want to know the answer to that question."

Eddie was silent for a while. "This is why you tried to convince Iris to stop her blog. What am I supposed to tell her? I don't know if I can lie to her."

"I thought the same thing when this first happened. Then I thought 'lie to her, or kill her,' and I chose lie." Barry kept his head down. He agreed with Eddie on this point. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up the charade. Whether or not she saw him as more than a friend, he couldn't keep lying to the woman he loved.

"Yeah, okay." Eddie said still a little skeptical.

"It's not easy, and I would hate you if it wasn't, but . . . I would rather lie to her and see her everyday than tell her and say goodbye. I know you care about her, so I know you agree. Keep her safe."

"You're right. I do want to keep her safe, but I can't look her in the eye and not tell her that this impossible hero that she truly believes in is her best friend." Eddie looked confused. Barry felt horrible that he was in this situation. He had too good of a heart to wish for his misery to have company, but now he had no choice.

"So, what are you going to do?" Joe asked his daughter's boyfriend.

"I don't know yet. Don't worry I won't tell her. Safety or not, it's not my secret to tell." Eddie left the room. He came right back. "Is that DNA test done yet, Barry?"

Barry gave a small laugh. "I'll go look."

**WAS I IMAGINING IT OR DID BARRY SAY FEELS LAST NIGHT! HOLY CRAP! Fanfiction was also mentioned. Then it just had to go and break my feels. This show was made specifically to destroy fangirls.**


	16. Chapter 16

**This one confuses me so much. My head does not wrap around.**

**Prompt from Hunter 10600. An accident brings about a lightning storm that brings a future Flash/Barry Allen. Future Barry, as Barry, goes in search of the present Barry but runs into Iris. The Future Barry acts weird, since in his time she died in some weird accident, and he causes Iris to be suspicious. She follows him to STAR Labs and discovers Barry's secret from there, where Barry freaks out about a future Barry Allen and Iris knowing.**

A storm came out of nowhere. The skies had been completely clear all day, but in the blink of an eye, a massive storm formed. It was Iris's least favorite type of storm, the kind that had almost taken her best friend away from her; lightning.

She knew she was being ridiculous. She was a grown woman who had taken down the infamous Clock King. It was crazy for her to be afraid of something as common as a thunderstorm, but she was.

Barry had been at STAR Labs when something went wrong. Truth be told, he had no idea what. One second he was on the treadmill at STAR Labs in 2022 and the next he was standing in front of a bank sign reading Nov. 24, 2014. He needed to get back to his own time, but he was going to need help, his help. He knew that he had spent a lot of time at STAR Labs, so that was where he would check first.

Just as Future Barry turned, _she _walked past him. He stared at Iris, his life-long best friend.

"Hey, Bear," she greeted. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What do you mean? I'm not looking at you differently." Honestly he could barely remember what it felt like to look at her.

"Okaaay. I need to go, I'll talk to you later."

"Ok." Future Barry walked around the corner and started running, completely unaware that Iris had doubled back to follow him and had seen everything.

Barry had tears in his eyes. He couldn't help but think of the last time he had seen his best friend.

_It was three weeks after he had finally confessed to her. He told her that he was flash and that he loved her. He was the happiest he had ever been. Iris had forgiven him for lying to her and had agreed to go out with him. The date had gone really well. _

_Then everything had taken a turn for the worst. He got a call at work about a car accident and was told to get to the hospital as fast as he could. He ran as fast as he could but he was still too late. _

_The love of his life had died in a car accident. The car slipped on ice and ran into Iris when she was walking home. It was the middle of the summer and the car slid on ice. Barry didn't believe it. _

_He was right there was a metahuman that could control ice. He had caused the accident because he wanted to break the Flash. It was Barry's fault. Maybe if he hadn't told her, if he had kept just one of the secrets, she would still be alive._

Barry couldn't afford to think like that. He needed to find himself and get back home.

He reached STAR Labs within two minutes and went upstairs to find his team and himself. He watched them for a few minutes without them noticing and in that time Iris had driven to the lab assuming that was where her best friend had gone.

"Hey guys." Future Barry said.

Caitlyn gave a small yelp. "What did we say about using your speed to sneak up on us, Barry?"

"What are you talking about?" Barry said as he walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw who had snuck up on him.

"Don't run back over there and pretend to be innocent." Caitlyn scolded. "What are you looking a-" Caitlyn said turning around.

"Why is there two of me?" Barry asked turning to Dr. Wells who had come in to see what the commotion was all about. "Oh, crap."

"There's two of you. I can't even tell you what I'm thinking right now." Iris said mouth wide open. "And you're the Flash. That explains a lot."

Present Barry looked about ready to collapse. He was thinking of all the things that could go wrong with there being two of him.

Future Barry wasn't sure if he should be happy or terrified. All he thought of was Iris. He had changed the past. Iris already knew he was the Flash, so would she live, or would she die sooner, or would anything change at all?

"One problem at a time. Let's get our future friend back to his own time before he steps on any other butterflies." Dr. Wells took charge of this problem as if it was as normal as a man who could breathe fire. (They thought each metahuman was different, but they had run into three fire users.)

"I'm gonna . . ." Barry pointed at Iris.

"Go ahead, we'll take care of this." Dr. Wells responded.

"Anything else you want to tell me, Barry?" Iris scowled up at him.

Barry looked down and sighed. "One more. I . . . I love you."

"You what?" Iris's gaze softened.

"I love you, Iris. I have for years and not just as a friend or a sibling. I love you." Barry hesitantly looked up at her. She had moved closer to him.

"Barry, why didn't you say something? I have been thinking you we're even an option. I kept calling you my brother thinking maybe I could convince myself that that was how I loved you. I started dating Eddie hoping he could someday make me feel the way that you do. Why, why didn't you tell me, Barry?"

"I was afraid that . . . that my confession would change things, that you wouldn't trust me anymore, but I was just being stupid and I'm sorry."

Iris closed the space between them and their lips met just like they always hoped they would.

Barry didn't know exactly how they had gotten the future him back to the future, but he would find out in about eight years.

**I don't know how either Barry. I'm new to science fiction writing****.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Together Eddie and Iris put two and two together and go to confront Barry about being the Flash.**

Eddie and Iris sat in Jitters talking about Iris's new favorite subject: the Flash.

"He's so familiar. I don't understand it. He gave me this ridiculous name to call him but I don't believe it's his real name. A superhero named 'Ralph?' Come on."

"Why do you need to know who he is?" Eddie asked. "Isn't knowing he's out there good enough?"

"I just feel like I've known him longer than . . . longer than I've known about the Flash."

"I bet he does have a weird name, though, if the first thing he could think of was Ralph."

"So we should be looking in a group of people with weird names. I wonder if Bartholomew knows of a club." Iris laughed a little, thinking about how much Barry hated his full name.

"We should ask him. So what else do you know about him other than he might have a weird name?" Eddie questioned.

"Brown eyes."

"I will put out a BOLO for a brown eyed man." Eddie gave her a pointed look. "I'm going to need more than the most common eye color, Iris."

"He's someone I know. He's tall and pale. He's usually smiling, he seems like he genuinely wants me to be safe, and . . . I know who he is." Iris realized in shock.

"Who?"

"I'll give you one more hint. He's always late."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Barry."

"Yeah."

"Barry Allen."

"Yeah."

"Bartholomew Henry Allen."

"We established the weird name part." Iris deadpanned.

"You do remember that the Flash nearly killed me not too long ago, right? You think that was Barry?"

"He did tell me something about another metahuman temporarily warping his mind. Maybe he wasn't lying to try to ease his mistakes. It would explain Barry's outburst at the captain that day too. And in his defense you had been trying to get a task force against him even before he attacked you." Iris watched for her boyfriend's reaction.

"I setup a task force against Barry. What do I do? It's not like I can tell the captain, 'Hey I changed my mind. I don't think he's dangerous anymore, we should disband the task force.'"

"Barry's smart and forgiving. I'm sure he'll be ok. Anyway, there's still a chance I'm crazy and Barry isn't the Flash."

"One way to know for sure."

"I can think of at least three; stakeout, try to get him to meet the Flash **(you'll see that one soon)**, drop hints until he knows that we know, the list goes on." Iris's brain was running as fast as Barry.

"Or we could talk to him." Eddie gave Iris a weird look.

"That would work." Iris blushed.

"Where do you think he would be?"

"STAR Labs. They would have been the first to notice something was different about him, and it would give another reason behind a continuing friendships with his doctors."

"Let's go."

"Wait. Let's not confront him at the lab. It should be somewhere more familiar with as few people as possible."

"Jitters after closing?" Eddie guessed based of her earlier confessions of meeting with the Flash.

"On the roof." Iris added. Eddie gave her a questioning look. "He would carry up to the roof where there were less cameras." She defended.

"I have to say, I was not expecting a summons. Especially without a task force surrounding the building." The Flash appeared behind them, but he didn't speak with malice, it was almost as if he was resigned.

"I'm sorry about that." Eddie bowed his head slightly not wanting to meet the Flash's, no Barry's eyes.

"I'm sorry I attacked you. I don't even want to know what would have happened if the Arrow hadn't gotten to me." Barry wouldn't meet his gaze either."

"You are better right?" Iris was still worried. She knew she could be wrong about him being Barry and didn't want anything to happen to Eddie.

"Yeah, the Arrow got me into a chokehold and forced me to look into different colored flashing lights which reversed the rage-aholic metahuman's power."

"'Rage-aholic metahuman'?" Eddie whispered to himself.

"His eyes would turn red and which caused one center of the brain to activ-" The Flash looked at Eddie and Iris and only saw confusion. "He made people angry by looking in their eyes and my speed made me have a longer, harsher reaction to it."

"OK" Iris nodded. "So Barry were you ever planning on telling me you were the Flash?"

Barry stumbled. "What?"

"Give it up, the scientific tangent got rid of any doubts I had left." Iris was too used to how excited Barry got over science and how disappointed he could get when no one understood what he was talking about.

"What gave it away to begin with?" Barry asked as he took off his mask.

"A combination of things. You felt familiar, you're protective-aside from the rage-aholic episode,- and you're always late."

"I'm working on the late thing."

"How can you have super speed and still be that late?" Eddie asked beginning to feel a little more comfortable with the situation.

"Everyone that knows my secret asks that question." Barry gave a small smile. "Though last time it was asked, I got two arrows in my back. Long story."

"Seems to me like you've got time for the _whole _story."

So Barry told them, starting from waking up and time slowing to the training he had gone through earlier that day. When he was finished he waited for his two shocked friends to gather their thoughts.

It was quite unfortunate that being the fastest man alive made you impatient, but it also meant you could take breaks without anyone ever knowing.


	18. Chapter 18

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Cisco being the lovable genius idiot he is gets drunk at the bar with everyone (Iris, Barry, Eddie, and Caitlyn) and lets it slip that he knows who the Flash is and Iris tricks him into telling her it's Barry.**

If Caitlyn had to survive anymore bar nights with Cisco, Barry, Eddie, and Iris, she was going to explode, but, after tonight, she probably wouldn't have to do it again for a long time, if ever.

It started out normal enough. Barry was late and looked depressed whenever Iris and Eddie were flirting, which happened more and more as the night went on. Caitlyn had him try her newest Flash-proof shot, but its affects still didn't last long.

Then Cisco had a few too many dinks, and Iris started going on about how great the Flash was. The night would not have taken the same turn if only one of these things had happened, but both happened and nothing good could come from it.

"The Flash saved a little kid earlier today." Iris started with a huge smile on her face. Barry tried to keep a straight face but was soon smiling right along with her. "She was climbing a really high tree, she slipped, and the branch snapped and would have fallen on her and crushed her-"

"I doubt a limb that was weak enough to break when a small girl stepped on it would have caused much more damage than a broken leg." Barry pointed out.

"She was really high up. And he still would have saved her from a miserable few months. Remember when I broke my leg when we were twelve?"

"How could I forget? I spent the majority of that year carrying you around piggy back because you hated using your crutches, and then you just got used to being carried. Joe lectured me about not letting you get away with that because you needed to start strengthening your leg, but it had become normal, so I just kept carrying you around." Barry and Iris laughed at the memory.

"See maybe that girl didn't have a Barry to be her little slave." Iris joked. "The Flash saved her from months of crutches. I got arm muscles when I broke my leg, she would just have sore armpits if not for the Flash. I want to know who he is."

"I know who he is." Cisco slurred. Caitlyn and Barry turned to him with threatening eyes while Iris just beckoned the waiter over with more drinks. Eddie watched the exchange with mild curiosity. He didn't know what he'd do with the information if Iris managed to get it out of Cisco.

"You want another drink, Cisco?" Iris held the shot glass just outside of his reach.

"Yes, yes I do." Cisco followed her hand like a dog would follow a bone.

"Do you want to tell me who the Flash is?"

"I don't want to die. His sort of father/mentor person would kill me."

"Iris, are you really bribing Cisco to find out who a masked man who obviously doesn't want to be discovered is." Barry tried to reason with her even though he knew she was too stubborn for it to have any affect. "I thought you just cared that he was out there 'giving people hope.'"

"I do care about that, but the curiosity is driving me crazy, Barry. Are you telling me that you aren't curious about who this guy really is? You had theories about why the Arrow wore green instead of black. You must be curious about how someone suddenly had the ability to run at lightning speed!" Iris turned away from Barry and started giving Cisco a shot every time he told her anything about the Flash. Barry gave Caitlyn a worried look.

Slowly, Iris fed Cisco more shots and got more and more information until Cisco looked like he might pass out. One last chance.

"Iris, stop killing my friend's liver to try to find out a guy's secret." Barry pleaded.

"Come _on_, Barry." Iris turned back to Cisco. "One more question. Who is he?"

"He's in this ro-om." Cisco dragged the last word out tauntingly, and gazing at the shots.

"Fine one more." Iris pushed another shot toward him. "Who is he?"

Cisco made a plane noise and pointed his finger at everyone in the room getting louder the closer he got to Barry. When he had had his fun he poked Barry on the forehead and said, "This one."

_Can I play it off?_ Barry thought to himself. Iris stared at him raising an eyebrow. "He's drunk."

Iris pushed one last shot to Cisco. After he drank it he finally passed out. _Why couldn't that have been two drinks ago?_

"His descriptions match up with you, and you kept trying to convince me to stop. He helped treat you after you were struck by lightning, so he would have been in the perfect position to find out, and the Flash has super speed and is still always late."

"That doesn't mean I have-" Barry started.

Barry looked to Eddie for help. "Sorry, it makes sense."

"We all already know. Show us." Iris commanded.

Barry knew he wouldn't be able to fool Iris now. He scooped Cisco up, took him home, left Aspirin and a glass of water on his nightstand, and raced back to the bar before Iris finished talking.

"Just do it." Caitlyn said.

"I already did."

"Don't be lazy, Bear. Show us something."

"Where is Cisco?" Barry prodded.

Caitlyn looked under the table but didn't see him. "He's either home or in the metahuman prison."

Barry gave Caitlyn a weird look. "Home. I took him home, Caitlyn. Why would I take him to the prison?"

"He's just everyone your secret."

"That doesn't really mean he should be locked inside a metahuman proof cell. That's cruel and unusual punishment. Besides what cell would I even put him in?"

"Any of them, he wouldn't get out until we let him."

Iris looked over at Caitlyn. "I didn't know you could be scary."

"I'm going to head out. Tonight has driven me insane and I have to try to remain sober for work tomorrow." Eddie stood and gathered his coat to leave.

"I'm gonna leave too." Caitlyn said. "I want to get some sleep before Dr. Wells lectures us tomorrow."

"Barry," Iris gave him a mischievous look. "You should carry me home, so I don't have to drive."

And so he did.


	19. Chapter 19

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Eddie and Barry are boxing again and Barry uses his super speed in front of Eddie (he doesn't realize Eddie saw) and Eddie tells Iris.**

"Barry," Eddie called. "Come with me."

Eddie looked angry, so Barry didn't want to follow, especially since he was headed toward the gym. He wanted to 'train' Barry. He was one of three people teaching Barry how to be faster and stronger. How many people thought he was weak?

"Ok," Barry sighed and followed Eddie to the gym.

"Grab some mits." Barry did as he was told and passed a pair to Eddie. "Remember you need to be quick."

_Speed really isn't my issue, _Barry thought.

Eddie threw the first punch and Barry sidestepped throwing his own. It was slow and sloppy, but as Eddie dodged it, Barry punched his side with his left arm.

"Good, still a little slow but good." Eddie commented.

It went on and on like this for twenty minutes. Eddie was exhausted, and Barry pretended to look the same way. Having three trainers and really fast healing kept you in pretty good shape.

They took a break to get some water but soon Eddie wanted to get back to punching his girlfriend's best friend.

"Let's try some speed exercises." Barry sighed in response and went to get the new equipment.

Eddie started out moving very slowly. and it was easy to hit the targets without using his real speed. Steadily, Eddie got moving faster and faster, but Barry had no problem keeping up. He missed a few occasionally thinking it would be suspicious if he hit all of them. Barry thought he saw Eddie look at him strangely, but he didn't think much of it. Eddie was probably just surprised by how many he was hitting because he was usually really slow when they were sparring.

Eddie went to Jitters on his lunch break to talk to Iris.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey, you should sit down." Eddie said with a blank expression and shock evident in his voice.

"Hold on. I'll go sign off for break." Iris kept glancing back at her boyfriend as she walked away." She came back and sat down waiting for her boyfriend to speak.

"I believe in your 'Flash.'"

"Really?! What changed?" Iris's eyes widened as much as her smile.

"I know who he is." Eddie stated simply. "Are you sure you don't?"

Iris was suddenly serious. "You do? Who is it? Why would I know?"

"It's . . . he's . . ."

"Come on, spit it out." Iris pleaded.

"Barry. Barry's the Flash."

Iris fell back into her chair. She hadn't realized she was standing up.

"What on Earth makes you think that?"

"I made Barry train with me, and when I had him doing speed exercises, he would hit the target, but I rarely saw him move. All I could see before and after I felt the punch was little flashes of light."

"What? Why didn't he tell me? Does he know that you know? Does he know you're telling me?"

Eddie did his best to answer his girlfriend's parade of questions, but the answer was usually 'I don't know.'

"I need to talk to that boy." Iris walked out the door and Eddie followed.

"Would you have ever told me?!" Iris demanded as she stormed into Barry's lab.

"Hi, Iris." Barry nearly dropped the test tube he was holding.

"Answer the question."

"I don't really understand the question."

"Would. You. Have. Ever. Told. Me. About. You. Being. The. Flash?" Iris stared him down.

Barry refused to meet her gaze. "No."

"Never?" Iris was truly surprised. This her best friend saying that he would never have told her about the biggest change in his life, about being able to help so many people, even about knowing the Arrow.

"I needed you safe. Knowing I was the Flash would have put you in danger, and honestly it was kind of fun teasing you." Barry's attempt to lighten the mood failed miserably.

"Fun teasing me? Barry, I trusted you." The look on Iris's face hurt Barry more than even he knew a look could.

"I know, I'm sorry. I guess it was just nice to be someone that could still surprise you."

"Barry, this is enough of a surprise for a very long time. I like knowing everything about me."

Eddie left the room feeling awkward and not wanting to catch retribution for being the one to tell Iris when Barry finally got curious.

Barry nodded. "The danger thing really was a factor. Keep an eye out."

"My guardian angel's looking out for me."

"You're worth being on time for."


	20. Chapter 20

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Iris follows Barry to STAR Labs.**

A bomb went off, Barry had to go. There was a fire, Barry had to go. There was kidnapping, Barry had to go. He forgot he had to do something, Barry had to go. It seemed like whenever Iris got a chance to spend time with her best friend, he had to go somewhere else. Sometimes his excuses were just too ridiculous to believe, in fact, most of them were.

Iris had made a decision. The next time he disappeared when they were supposed to be hanging out, she would follow him without fail.

Her opportunity came faster than she thought it would.

The next day Barry was supposed to have lunch with her, but he got a phone call halfway through.

"I'm sorry." He winced and walked away from the table.

"It's ok." She lied. Not being able to spend time with Barry while he was awake hurt a little more than sitting with him in a coma, saying goodbye every day because she knew the next time she saw him he could be gone. Now she couldn't be there with him by his _choice._

"I will make it up to you, I promise." Barry said effectively telling her that he had to leave. He truly looked sorry, so she felt a little better.

She waited a few seconds after he left the coffee shop to follow him. Iris was very careful to follow at a distance that would not draw attention. For the most part Barry stuck to crowded streets which made keeping hidden easier, but then he would go into alleys she would have to practically watch him around the corner to see where he turned and then follow.

Barry looked behind him a lot and Iris wasn't sure if he was doing it out of habit, and she should be worried, or if he could sense that someone was following him, and she should be more careful. Soon she could see where he was headed. A massive building she had been to nearly every day while Barry was in his coma.

_He left early to go to STAR Labs. Is he still sick? _ Iris was used to being worried about Barry, she had done it her whole life, but this felt different. The possibility of him still being affected by the lightning and the coma was _devastating_.

She quietly slipped inside the room where Barry had been kept while he was in his coma. What she saw horrified her.

"Barry!" she exclaimed running to his side.

Barry lay in that same hospital bed covered in blood with Caitlyn hovering over him. He did not look like that when she had been following him and he had only been out of her sight for about two minutes. What in the world could have done this in so short a time?

"What are you doing here?" He said trying to hide his shock. And fear?

"I may have followed you." Iris answered shyly.

"_Iris,_" Barry drew out her name. "Why?"

"I wanted to know what was up with you, Barry. You've been acting so different since you woke up. Then I saw that you were going here and I got worried that you were still . . . in trouble."

"I'm sorry. I know I've been acting weird, but I'm ok. Really I'm ok."

"That does not look 'ok.'" Iris gestured down at his bleeding body, only it wasn't bleeding anymore. Caitlyn had cleaned up all the blood and all the cuts and other injuries Iris didn't want to think about, had all healed. "Wh-what? H-h-how?" Iris stuttered.

"Cellular regeneration." Dr. Wells answered as he entered the room. "He has super speed down to the cellular level allowing for quick healing. Nice to see you again, Ms. West."

Iris looked at Dr. Wells in shock and then turned back to Barry. "_You_ are the Flash."

Barry simply nodded.

"Other than 'my safety,' why didn't you tell me?"

"Lots of reasons, most of them selfish. I didn't know how to tell you. Plus, it was fun being able to save you for a change, and you thought I was cool and mysterious. It was nice, and it was almost like you enjoyed trying to solve the mystery."

"I have always thought you were cool. You were so different form anyone else and you never tried to change who you were." Iris smiled. "But, you're right the mystery was kind of fun."

They were quiet for a minute. "Is this how you stay so skinny?" Barry simply nodded and laughed at his friend.


	21. Chapter 21

**Not an Iris prompt, but I still like it anyway.**

**Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Barry and Eddie are working on a case in his lab when a metahuman attacks and Barry saves Eddie. **

"What the heck happened here?" The captain said as Barry walked over to where he, Joe, and Eddie stood.

"It looks like his head was bashed in. It only took one hit, so whatever was used must have been really heavy, or we're looking for someone with super strength." Barry said kneeling down by the corpse.

"There you are Allen." The captain glared down at him, and he winced.

"Bashed in with one blow? The man barely has any head left, Barry." Eddie commented.

"There is only one fracture pattern suggesting either they hit the exact same place on the victim's head which is nearly impossible, especially if the victim was moving at the time of the first hit, or they were hit once with something very heavy." Barry leaned down a little closer to the body, covering his nose. "There's something in here." He pulled an evidence bag and tweezers out of his coat. He pulled out a shard of metal. "I should be able to figure out what from the autopsy and this metal bit. I'll start that analysis right when I get back to the lab."

Barry continued to look for anything that could be useful in the investigation while the others talked to the traumatized teens who had found the body. _Joe's good at that._ Barry thought. _He's had plenty of experience._

Eventually everyone was ready to go back to the station. Barry went straight to his lab. He started the test and was getting extremely impatient. When you can move faster than the speed of sound, three hours of waiting seems like an eternity.

After about an hour Eddie came in to talk to him.

"Barry, can I ask you something kinda weird?"

Barry narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Okaaaaaay."

"Is Iris cheating on me?"

"WHAT? Why would you think that?"

"Well, she's been ignoring my calls and, and she always seems so distracted."

"Why come to me?"

"You're her best friend. You know her better than anyone else besides her dad, and I couldn't ask him, obviously."

Eddie, calm, collected, sure of himself Eddie was asking him, the nerdy brother-zoned guy, for relationship help. But not just any relationship help, he wanted help with the relationship he had with the girl Barry was in love with.

"Eddie, I do know her. I can tell when she's happy, when she's confused, when she's sad, or just plain lost, but this is her first serious relationship. I can't tell you how she will react to anything because I have absolutely nothing to base a conjecture off of. All I can tell you is that Iris is not the kind of girl that would cheat on someone. She cares about you." It hurt to say that, it was like Barry had stabbed himself in the leg. "She will not pull you along if she thinks it might hurt you, and she will not continue to do things that make her unhappy. Iris will not cheat, and if she wants out of a relationship, she will get out of it. You're probably just nervous because you're in a serious relationship."

"You're right. You know, you know women so well, but you don't have a girlfriend, why is that?"

Barry was saved from coming up with a ridiculous excuse when they heard shouts and gunfire downstairs.

"We need to check that out." Barry had already started toward the door when it flew off its hinges. Whoever had been creating a commotion downstairs, was now in the lab.

"Barry get out!" Eddie called and motioned him toward the door.

The intruder looked toward him and suddenly a chair was hurtling toward his head. Barry ran to catch the chair before it could hit Eddie.

"Telekinesis, interesting." Barry commented under his breath.

"How'd you get over here so fast?"

"Seriously? You want to go through this now?" Barry scoffed.

"No, no, sorry."

Barry ran toward the metahuman dodging all the debris he had called to get in the Flash's way. Barry would get in a few punches, then run and move Eddie out of the way of random items like computers, chairs, and even his MA spectrometer, and then he would repeat the process, until finally he got a lucky shot and knocked out the metahuman. In reality it took only a few minutes, but Barry was exhausted by the constant changes in direction. He needed to work on that at STAR Labs.

He just about collapsed, but Eddie caught him.

"Woah, you ok there Flash?"

"Yeah, I just need to sit down and eat a calorie bar. It's weird to hear you call me that." Barry chuckled and Eddie joined in.

"Where are the calorie bars?"

Barry lifted his arm weakly and pointed to his locker. "They are in the duffel bag, in my locker."

Eddie reached into his locker and unzipped the duffel bag. "You keep your Flash suit at the precinct? You do know detectives come in and out of here freely right?" Eddie said walking over to Barry while opening his calorie bar.

"And yet the only police that know are you and Joe. The two people I have shown my powers to."

"Does Iris know?"

"No, and she never can." Barry shook his head with wide eyes. "She would be in too much danger. Her blog is too much already, not that I could convince her that fact face to face or face to mask."

"Face to mask?" Eddie gave a small laugh.

"Don't worry, I know I'm not cool."

"You just saved my life, Barry, from a telekinetic madman. I'd say that's pretty cool."

Barry smiled.


	22. Chapter 22

**Prompt from Mayflowers123. The Flash is talking to Iris (vibrating his vocal cords) and Iris gets close enough to him to take off his mask.**

"You called?" The Flash set Iris on her feet on what had quickly become his favorite rooftop in the city.

"Yeah, I think I found some questions you can actually answer, truthfully, _Ralph_." Iris's eyes gleamed in that special look that Barry could never say no to. (There were pictures of him dressed as a very tall elf complete with curly toed shoes to prove it.)

"You can ask. I can't guarantee I'll answer, but you can always ask."

Her distracting smile widened. "Favorite part of running?"

"It makes me . . . capable of saving people. I can't describe the feeling I get when someone's life is a little easier or longer because of something I did. I can help people before anyone else would know what was happening, much less respond to the need. Running gives me purpose."

"You could have been an unstoppable criminal, and your life could have been much easier, why do what you do?"

"I had an interesting childhood. My parents and the family that took me in . . ." Barry was getting too close recognizable details. "The thought never even crossed my mind that I could get away with it. I'm not sure I would be able to handle a life of crime."

Barry had stopped circling the rooftop and was now slowly walking toward Iris as she asked her questions.

"Another family took you in? Why?" Barry backed up a few paces. "Sorry. Why do you talk to me?"

"You care, your blog put you in danger, and I wanted to protect you from the people who would want to hurt you to get to me, also I don't have a lot of friends, but you seem to like outcasts."

"I wouldn't call you an outcast, I don't really know anyone that I would." Barry smiled. It was just like Iris to defend Barry and the Flash when anyone including him said anything mildly offensive.

"My point exactly." He was very close to her now. "You only see the best in people."

Iris smiled and looked him in the eye. "I wish you'd let me see you."

"I can't put you in that kind of danger Iris."

Iris took a step forward. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Iris-" that was as far as he got before she pulled off his mask. He may be the fastest man alive, but his shock made him slower. By the time he began to vibrate his face, it was too late, Iris had seen the face she had grown to love.

"Barry?" she gasped. "What? Why? How?" Barry stopped trying to disguise himself.

"Iris, I know I should have told you. You're my best friend, and you've always been there for me. I love everything about you. It was selfish, but I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

Iris was silent for a long time, and Barry began to get really nervous. What if she hated him? He couldn't lose her.

"Barry, never lie to me again." She spoke slowly and clearly, emphasizing each word. "Promise me. We never lie to each other again. By the time we leave this rooftop we will have no more secrets and no more lies between us."

"I promise."

They fell into silence again. The only things they had kept from the other were things they were too shy to say now.

"Iris, I've really only ever kept two secrets from you. One was being the Flash. The other . . . Iris, when I say I love you, I don't mean as a friend or a brother. I have been in love with you since I met you. I have only ever loved you. I will only ever love you. You and only you."

"Barry be quiet." Iris closed the space between them.

No more secrets.

**Sorry, that was really short.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Prompt from Fangirl2Fanwoman. Iris repeatedly tries to convince Barry and the Flash to meet each other, but they keep avoiding it/ blowing her off. When all her plans fail, she intentionally puts herself in a situation where Barry would witness the Flash coming to save her, forcing him to reveal himself.**

It had started a few weeks after Tony had kidnapped Iris, and she and Barry had become friends again. Iris had begun trying to convince Barry and the Flash to meet. The first time had been on the roof as the Flash.

"I'd really like it if you could just speak to my friend, the one who always believed in the impossible. His name is Barry Allen, and he seems to have completely given up hope. Please, I started looking for you to help him, and he needs you more than ever." Iris pleaded. She had grown worried about her lifelong best friend. She could barely remember a time in their lives when Barry didn't believe in the impossible. She knew it was probably selfish, but she didn't want him to change. He may not fit in with most people, but she liked that it left more time for the two of them. He was never busy or with someone else when she needed him.

"Iris, did you stop to think that maybe he _wants_ to let that part of his life go? Maybe he wants to be normal? Accepted by someone other than you? Besides, I'm not even supposed to be talking to you. This conversation is dangerous. Right now, the only person I'm putting in danger is you. I hate that I put you in danger, but when there is only you, one person that I need to protect, it's okay because I won't have any other people depending on me to save them. I will always be able to protect you. The more people I talk to, the more danger you and they are in. I may be fast, but I can't be in two places at once. There would come a day where you and your friend will both be in danger, and I will choose you. I won't be able to protect him."

Iris was more than surprised that he already knew he would save her before anyone else, and a little scared that the anyone else included her Barry. "He works at a police station, and spends most of his free time with my cop father and boyfriend. I think one conversation to give him the hope he's losing, will be okay."

"I'm sorry, Iris, the answer is no." The look on her face broke his heart, but he literally couldn't do what she was asking. What other choice did he have?

The second time she talked to Barry.

"I think you two would get along really well. He speaks science-"

"Speaks science?" Barry laughed.

Iris hit his arm. "Yes, he speaks science. He's sweet and funny. This is important to me. He's my friend and he says I'm the only one he talks to. You're the kind of person that makes having few friends ok because you're a good enough friend to make up for it. He wouldn't need anyone else to stop being lonely. Please, please help him."

Barry had to try so hard not to laugh at the irony. Here was the only person who befriended him without being pressured into it, trying to get him to befriend his lonely alter ego. "Iris, I'm sure there's a reason why someone who has super speed only has one friend, and I am happy to listen to you talk about the Flash because I know it's important to you, but I'm trying to move on from the impossible. It has taken up more than half my life, and it's time for me to move on. I need you to understand that, Iris."

"Just one meeting, Barry. The impossible is part of you, and the Flash is lonely. This is really important to me, Barry. I need my two guys to meet." Barry noticed she didn't include Eddie as one of 'her guys.'

"I'm sorry, Iris. I just can't do it."

"Joe, Iris keeps trying to get me to meet the Flash. What am I supposed to do?" Barry said as he sank into his desk chair.

Joe sat down on the edge of his desk opposite him and laughed.

"That doesn't surprise me one bit."

"This isn't funny, Joe. I might have to tell her just because she's not going to give up on 'her two guys' meeting."

"She referred to you as 'her two guys'?" Joe chuckled. "That must make you happy at least."

Barry smiled. "Yeah, it feels pretty good, but-but what do I _do?_"

"Avoid it as long as you can, son. Things'll work out."

Barry and the Flash avoided Iris's attempts to bring them together, whether they changed the subject or made excuses or were just really busy, for a month before Iris got truly sick of it. She came to a drastic decision. If they would not meet of their own free will, she would make them.

There had been a long string of violent muggings, including two murders, in the alleys in Central City recently. The cops had no idea who was doing it.

Barry and Iris had gone out for dinner because Iris said they hadn't been spending enough time together recently. When they were finished with their dessert and ready to go home, Iris faked being really tired.

"Let's take the shortcut home, ok Barry?"

"Iris, you know it's too dangerous right now." Barry said referring to the recent crime spree raging through. The short cut Iris was referring to went through three of the alleys that the police were currently investigating and two alleys that had not been hit.

"Would you rather carry me home?" Iris asked.

"Sure. I can do that." Iris certainly didn't expect that answer, and she didn't expect to wish she could let him do it. She looked at her best friend's arms a little longer than was really necessary.

_Where is this coming from? _She thought to herself.

"C'mon Barry, we'll be fine." She smiled. "Though if you keep arguing with me about it, you might have to carry me after all."

Barry smiled wide at the thought, wider than was probably reasonable about carrying someone else's girlfriend home.

It did not take long for Iris's plan to work. The first alley they entered there was a man waiting for them.

"Give me everything! Now!" The man yelled.

"Iris, get down, quickly." Barry shoved Iris behind him.

"You're making a mistake." Iris chided. "The Flash will save us. He always comes for me."

The man pulled a gun and stepped to Barry's side. Barry moved to continue blocking Iris.

"C'mon where is he?" Iris mumbled under her breath, loud enough for just Barry to hear.

"I'm getting tired of this, put your money on the ground or I put you and your girlfriend on the ground." The gunman threatened.

"For someone so fast that man is awfully late." Iris mumbled again.

Barry knew it was time to act just as the gunman pulled the trigger. He pulled Iris out of the way and disarmed the man.

"Call the station!" Barry shouted before he charged the gunman again and tied him up. He rejoined Iris as she stared at the newly tied up criminal.

"These last few months make a lot more sense now." Iris commented staring at Barry in shock.

"I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry."

"Just no one secrets, okay?" Iris hugged her best friend and marveled at how good it felt to be in his arms even when he wasn't moving at 600 miles per hour, and now she thought she knew why.

"Barry?" He looked down at the girl in his arms. She stepped up to her tip toes and kissed her best friend.

Suddenly, Iris wasn't so tired, Barry noticed. They waited for the police to show up and take their statements and then left to spend time figuring out where they would go from there.

**I hope you like this. I'm now behind on homework, and I still haven't seen the most recent episode.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Once again, I have never read a comic, so go easy on me.**

**Prompt from Arrow Flash Cave.** **Barry and Iris kiss and there outside in the rain and thunder but then when they kiss a lightning bolt strikes both of them and the both get knocked out. Luckily Detective West was driving by and got them, but he knew he could not take Barry to the hospital, so he took them both to STAR Labs, and when Barry woke up, Iris was in a coma but only for like a couple days maybe 3, but not over a month, and she wakes up, and both Barry and Iris have powers, and Barry might even be faster and stronger than before.**

Barry was the happiest he had ever been. It was nearing Christmas, and he and Iris had just started dating. Nothing could go wrong.

Barry and Iris were under the awning outside Jitters. They stood there for a minute dreading going out into the rain.

"It's almost Christmas. Why is it _raining?"_ Iris asked and Barry had the sudden wish that he could change the weather.

"Well-"

"Barry, I'm going to stop you there. I'm not going to understand what you're about to say."

"I was just going to say it's too warm." Barry laughed. Iris stared at him and then joined her goofy boyfriend laughing at his antics.

"Young man, you are under the mistletoe. Are you going to kiss her any time soon?" said an old woman passing by.

Barry looked up and blushed. They had been standing under the mistletoe laughing for several minutes and had attracted small crowd. Even Joe had pulled over seeing his kids, the adorable, wonderful people that he had raised, being complete dorks.

"C'mere you." Barry said being the perfect goof that Iris loved. He leaned down to kiss her like he had done many times in the past few weeks since they started dating, but this time it was different. Instead of the surge of complete happiness he usually felt, he was nervous. Something bad was about to happen to her, something he couldn't protect her from.

That's when it happened. They say lightning never strikes the same spot twice, but, Barry later reasoned, his body wasn't really a place.

Joe sprang into action the second he saw the lightning. His kids were on the ground. They weren't moving. People had starting calling 911, but Joe knew Barry would be in even more danger if he was taken to a hospital.

"You, help me get them in the car." Joe said flashing his badge at a man watching in shock. It was enough of a shock to spur him into action even if the action made no sense to him. Why would a cop be telling him to move two accident victims into his car instead of waiting for an ambulance?

Joe had almost gotten to STAR Labs when Barry began to come to.

"Barry? You awake?" Joe questioned.

"Yeah, but Caitlyn is going to kill me."

"Can you move?"

"The first step would be opening my eyes." When Barry accomplished that, he was horrified. "Iris?"

"Yeah, we're at STAR Labs. I knew I couldn't take you to the hospital." Joe said pulling into the parking lot. He felt a bit of wind and turned to see that Barry had sped off with Iris.

Joe ran inside to see Iris lying on the operating table with Caitlyn hooking her up to machines and Barry hovering over her worriedly.

"Barry, give Caitlyn some space to work." Joe called. Barry walked over to him.

"This is all my fault. This is all my fault." Barry continually whispered under his breath.

"No, Barry, no it's not." Joe said pulling him into a much needed hug.

Barry did not leave Iris for days. She had slipped into a coma just like he had. He could not stop worrying or blaming himself, no matter what anyone else said to try to calm him.

On the fourth day after she and Barry had been struck, Iris woke up.

"BARRY!" She screamed and he woke up.

"I'm here. Shhhh, shhhh. Lay back down you need to rest." Barry said taking her hands in his. "I'm going to call your dad, let him know you're awake, ok."

"Stay here." She pleaded with wide eyes. The look of fear on her face killed him.

"I will." Barry stayed with her hands in his while he called Joe.

"Why are we at STAR Labs?" Iris asked them when Joe came in the room.

Joe stared at Barry. "I have to tell her Joe. I have to."

Joe merely nodded in response.

"It's about time you got back on the treadmill, anyway." Caitlyn said without smiling.

"What does a treadmill have to do with me being at STAR Labs?" Iris turned to Barry expectantly.

"Joe knew he couldn't take me to a hospital, so he brought us both here. I'm the Flash, Iris. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish you didn't have to find out like this."

Iris started shaking. Then she started vibrating.

There was a chorus of 'wows' and 'how in the world's'.

"What is everyone going crazy about?" Iris asked a little scared.

"Ms. West, I don't know exactly how it happened, but you seem to have become like Barry." Doctor Wells tried to explain. He didn't remember this happening from the future.

"Can we work on the how?"

He smiled at her. "We will definitely work on that, but for now, you need to work on getting well, which with your new abilities won't take long, and we need to pull Barry away and get him back to the treadmill."

Barry nodded at Doctor Wells' 'subtle' push to train. "I'll come back the millisecond I'm done, ok?"

"I'll be ok, Barry. I'm a big girl."

"I've been your best friend since we were little, and I'm your boyfriend. It is fully within my rights to worry about you when you are injured or going through something unfamiliar. Try to get some rest. I love you."

With that Barry went to his usual training and Iris slept. In the two hours they were apart she had healed and Barry had broken the treadmill by surpassing its maximum speed. Cisco was _pissed,_ but it didn't take long to fix. Iris came in and requested to try it.

_Who knows, _Barry thought, _maybe we'll be one of those couples that goes jogging together every morning._

**Sorry if the characters are OOC. I wrote this at about midnight.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Prompt from MicroraptorGlider. The police department in general finds out metahumans exist and were created when the particle accelerator exploded. They then suspect Barry might be a metahuman because he was struck by lightning that night and treated at STAR Labs which is suspicious (they don't suspect the Flash). Either Iris finds out on her own or Barry doesn't want her to find out that way and tells her.**

"Barry, get down to the station, now. The captain wants to address _everyone._" Joe commanded into the phone. He looked around to see if anyone seemed to be listening. "Slowly." He whispered.

Barry arrived ten minutes later.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Allen." The captain said. "Now we can begin." He spoke louder now to address the entire station. "It has come to the city's that since the night of the particle accelerator explosion at STAR Labs, people with . . . certain abilities have been seen. These abilities are known to include super speed, shape shifting into gaseous and metallic form, and other things that I'm not sure how to describe. I never thought that I would have to say these words or anything like them, and I don't expect you to believe it right away, but we are now dealing with criminals and even innocents with . . ." the captain struggled with the next word. "Super powers."

Some officers laughed. They all thought it must be a joke, but one look at the captain's shocked face, and they had no choice but to believe it.

"You've got to be careful, Barry." Joe warned.

"We contacted STAR Labs earlier today when the rumors were given backing. They didn't seem too keen on sharing details, but they did admit to the existence of what they call 'metahumans.' We were told that for the most part their minds have not been affected. They have met and studied a few metahumans with positive intent, but they have told us that they have imprisoned some violent 'metahumans' with the help of another metahuman, namely 'The Flash'. The city has told us to find and recruit a team of metahumans to study and potentially train them as police to track down criminal metahumans. We don't know how to fight them, and we don't have the resources to learn how, but if we can find metahumans willing to work for us, we can fight back. They are dangerous, but we need them to fight them."

Barry felt like the captain was staring right at him while talking about recruiting metas.

"Thawne, West." He beckoned them into his office.

"It'll be okay, Barry. I promise." Joe said as he walked into the captain's office just behind Eddie.

"What's up, Captain?" Eddie asked while Joe tried not to look nervous.

"Barry was struck by lightning on the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Then he was treated at STAR Labs. Do you know where I'm going with this?"

"Wait you think that Barry is one of those metahuman things?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"They are still people, Eddie, but really captain? He's my son, I would know." Joe said.

"Exactly. The men out there will not be accepting to the idea of metahumans. These people are different and no one likes change, especially changes that involve potential danger. I think you both know all that, and you're trying to protect him." The captain explained.

"I won't deny that I would do anything for my boy, but STAR Labs treated him because Dr. Wells felt guilty about the seventeen deaths that day and heard about Barry. He wanted to do everything he could to not add Barry Allen to the list of deaths he felt responsible for." Joe retaliated.

"Eddie?"

"I barely knew him before that day. I had only talked to him a couple times. He wouldn't trust me with that kind of information." The man responded.

"But he would tell Iris, wouldn't he?"

"Go ahead and ask her, Captain. Barry isn't a metahuman."

"I got a weird call from your captain today." Iris said to Barry when he came to walk her home from Jitters that night.

"Really, what about?" Barry said feigning innocence.

"He thinks you're like the Flash, someone with powers." Iris stared at him. "It got me wondering."

"Wondering about what?"

"He made some good points. These people were created by the explosion the same time you got hit by lightning. STAR Labs took interest in you. You've been acting differently ever since you woke up, and the Flash showed up about a day later. _Nine months_ after he would have developed the powers. Now, why would the Flash, who seems to love saving people, wait to start saving people until nine months after he could? Unless he couldn't because he was in a coma." Iris looked at her best friend who had stopped walking and turned toward her.

"Iris," he looked down. "I-I really didn't want you to find out like this."

"When were you going to tell me? _Were _you going to tell me?"

"Iris, I have spent every waking moment thinking about the day when it would finally be safe enough to tell you. It hurt so bad to not be able to tell you, but there was no way I could allow you to be in more danger than you already were. I-" Barry nearly let the three words he had always longed to say out of his mouth, but he was too afraid. "I care about you, Iris. I can't let you be hurt."

"Barry, you don't need to worry about me." She hit his shoulder. "I'm the daughter of a cop, and I've got my own personal super hero. "

Barry laughed. "I'm glad you know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Oh, Bear, I know you better than you realize. I also know my dad really well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know that he knows about you and made you promise not to tell, but you don't want to tell that he made you promise not to tell." Iris said rather quickly.

"You're doing that thing where you stop speaking English."


	26. Chapter 26

**Prompt from PerlogAnnwyl. Iris finds out after getting locked inside a closet at STAR Labs.**

Iris was getting annoyed at Barry. He had blown her off again and Iris was not happy. She knew that he had been distracted and that for once in his life he had a different group of friends than her. She was used to pretty much being Barry's only friend. It was selfish but she liked being the only person, or one of very, very few, that he spent time with and all the others were people that she made him be friends with. Now he spent most of his time at STAR Labs with his new friends.

Iris didn't want to admit it, but she was jealous of Caitlyn and Cisco. And that was why she was currently hiding in a closet at STAR Labs. She knew how embarrassed she would be if they found her, and she knew that Barry would feel guilty.

She heard two pairs of footsteps.

"Cisco," she heard Barry call. "I thought Dr. Wells told you to close and lock that closet before we left."

"Oh yeah. Thanks man. He'd be so mad if walked in here and it was open." Iris heard Cisco jog closer to where she was hiding. The door closed and she heard a soft click.

_I'm screwed._ She thought to herself.

"I don't really understand why he wants it locked up. Wouldn't it save time to have it unlocked?" Cisco asked.

"Time isn't really an issue, but if someone besides the five of us walked in and saw it . . ." Barry tapered off his explanation.

_What is in this closet? _Iris looked behind her and saw something familiar. _Time definitely isn't an issue._ She sat in front of the Flash's suit. Her best friend knew who the Flash was and hadn't told her. No wonder he hadn't been spending as much time with her and was distracted. He hadn't lied to her before, _other than the 'I love you' business._

"Cisco how long did you leave it open?" Dr. Wells asked as he entered the room.

"It was open the whole time we were gone." Cisco sighed.

"Cisco, it is very dangerous to do that, for all of us but especially Barry. You need to remember to lock it."

"Well you can unlock it now. There's a bank robbery going on." Caitlyn sounded annoyed, but Iris wasn't quite sure why.

"Got it." Barry replied from inside the closet. _Barry doesn't know the Flash. He _is _the Flash._ Iris realized.

Barry looked down when he heard a small intake of breath. The next thing Iris knew she was outside of STAR Labs with the Flash facing her.

"I'll talk to you later." He said without bothering to disguise his voice. Barry ran off at almost the speed of sound to save people. Barry, her Barry, was the super hero she had been writing about. Her best friend was her secret guardian angel.

She went to Jitters while he was busy interrupting a bank robbery. He would know to find her there.

"Iris." Barry set her down on the roof. He wasn't wearing his suit anymore.

"Hey, Bear . . . thanks for saving me from the embarrassment of either being trapped in a closet or found in a closet." She didn't know what to do. This was only the second time she had been surprised by something Barry had kept from her. Iris knew she handled the last secret poorly, but she still didn't know how to react to Barry having secrets.

"Iris, I know I should have told you." _Barry says my name a whole lot, and he makes it sound special. How did I not notice before?_

"Yeah, you should have, but I guess you have a right to your secrets." She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice, but by the look on Barry's face she knew she wasn't successful.

"I wanted to tell you. I just didn't know how to. Then it just got too late, and I felt guilty that I hadn't told you yet and that made it harder, so I hid behind the idea that you would be in more danger if you knew. I should have told you."

"I shouldn't have spied on you."

"Yeah, I am curious about that." Barry tilted his head. She smiled and blushed. Maybe they could go back to being the teasing friends they had always been. Barry had a flicker of hope of getting his best friend back after the two secrets that had exploded between them.

"I missed you. You've been spending a lot of time at the lab lately, and I guess I just wanted to know what was so special about being there. It's crazy, I know, but you've never really been busy when it wasn't with me before. I know it's really selfish, but I missed that." Iris wouldn't meet his gaze. She only looked up when he gave a light, embarrassed laugh.

"I think it's sweet. I've always liked that you knew you could count on me to be free for you, and when you need me, I will do my best to be there for you. I meant it when I said you were worth being on time for."

"Good, because I've been thinking."

"That sounds scary." Iris hit him.

"I'm serious. Selfishness wasn't the only reason I was spying on you. I needed you today, but I was afraid to interrupt you spending time with them because I do know that it's important for you to have other friends-"

"Iris, what's wrong?" Barry asked with open arms.

Iris fell back into his comforting arms. "I broke up with Eddie."

"Why?" He said trying to be as sympathetic as possible, but he was really happy.

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You told me you loved me and it made me notice things. Eddie doesn't look at me anything like the way you do. You remembered my mother's ring from fifth grade. I should be with you. I even told Eddie, before we told my dad that we were dating, that I had never needed a romantic relationship because you kept my life full. I kind of had a romantic relationship without even knowing it. I love you, and I never realized it. I need you, not Eddie, _you._"

"Iris." Barry's smile was the largest she had ever seen it.

Iris got up on her tip toes and kissed her best friend.


	27. Chapter 27

**Prompt from PerlogAnnwyl. Iris learns after she reverses into the Flash, knocking him out.**

Iris had had a long day. She had dealt with several families with small kids who seemed to hate chairs with a vengeance. She had gotten into a fight with Eddie when he came in on his lunch break. Iris didn't even know what the fight was about. She just needed to go talk to Barry, that would fix everything. He was always there. Barry could solve anything.

She walked toward her car trying not to run, though she desperately wanted to. All Iris wanted was to get home. Hopefully, Barry would already be there, so she wouldn't have to call and wait for him. She knew she relied on him too much, but he didn't mind. He never said no, but he knew he could. Didn't he?

_But, he had been really busy lately._ She remembered. _ But he had still come whenever she needed him without her ever asking. _

Barry was a mind reader when it came to her needing him.

BANG!

Iris slammed on the brakes and climbed out of the car.

"What have I done?" Iris was horrified. The Flash laid behind her car, unmoving. She felt for his pulse and nearly cried of joy when she found it. There was already no way to redeem this day. She could not kill her guardian angel too.

His pulse was fast, like Barry's was when he first woke up. _Why do my thoughts always lead back to him? A man is unconscious at my feet. I should be thinking about the Flash not Barry._

"Oh, crap. What do I do? I can't take you to the hospital." Iris questioned the still unconscious man.

Iris picked him up as well as she could. He was heavy for someone so lanky. _It's probably muscle, the picks _me_ up easily enough._

She stuffed him into her car and drove home. Maybe Barry would be able to take care of him with his sciency stuff.

"Dad!" Iris shouted when she walked through the door. Joe came running out into the hall.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" He said looking over his daughter.

"I ran over the Flash."

"What?" The look of horror in her father's eyes surprised and confused her, but made her happy too. He seemed to care about the Flash even if he hadn't believed her about him.

"I hit him with my car. He's lying in the back of my car, unconscious. I couldn't risk taking him to the hospital with him being what he is. Is Barry here? I thought maybe Mr. Science would be enough of a doctor."

"Uh, no. Barry isn't here. Let's get back in the car and go to STAR Labs. They'll be able to take care of him there."

"No, that's as dangerous as the hospital. Can we just get him inside and call Barry? Please, dad, I'm worried." Iris stared, pleadingly, into her father's eyes.

He wanted to assure her that the best place for him to be was STAR Labs, but how could he do that without putting her in the danger of knowing Barry was the Flash? _Barry heals quickly, he'll be okay if we keep him here._ Joe thought. _And if it takes longer than an hour, I'll take him to the lab and we'll just have to explain everything to Iris. Barry loves her, he'll protect her._

It was nearing an hour and Barry still hadn't shown signs of improvement. Joe was getting ready to put him back in the car and just drive off.

He was amazed at how worried Iris was about taking him to anyone who would have even the slightest idea of experimenting with what he could do, and Iris knew Barry was always interested in the impossible, but she trusted him enough to not test the Flash. Not to mention she didn't even know it was Barry, and she was mother-henning over the young man just like whenever Barry had been hurt by bullies at school. Iris hadn't left his side the entire time he had been here. Even when she had called Barry's phone-which luckily wasn't on him-she had stayed kneeling by the couch. Joe knew Iris wanted to know who the Flash was under the mask, Barry had told him about her asking for his real name, but it seemed like the idea of looking under his mask while he couldn't stop her hadn't even occurred to her. All Iris cared about was the Flash being completely safe. When would his two kids finally realize they loved each other?

"Why hasn't Barry answered his phone? He has never missed a call from me." _Other than the times I called him while he was in the coma, just so I could hear his voice. _She mentally added.

"What the heck just happened?" She knew that voice.

"Bartholomew HENRY _ALLEN_!" Iris roared.

Barry reached up to his face and felt his mask. His hand fell back to his side. "Crap."

"Don't beat yourself up kid. Two more minutes and I was going to tell her for you, so she'd let me take you to STAR."

"You knew about this dad?" She turned back to Barry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Iris-"

She cut him off and laid over him in a slightly awkward hug. "Let's not do this. I don't need to know why. I just want you to be okay. You had me so worried, Bear."

Barry felt his shoulder moisten, and he sat up on the couch. He repositioned his best friend so that she was sitting next to him with his arm around her as she continued to cry.

She fell asleep after an hour, and Barry, when he was confident moving her wouldn't disturb her, picked her up and carried her to her room.

When he was about to leave she stirred. "Stay, Barry." She patted the space next to her on the bed.

"Okay." Barry laid down beside her above the covers, not wanting to have to explain anything in the morning if her boyfriend were to show up like he did occasionally.

That was how Joe found them the next morning. Cuddled up modestly on Iris's bed. It was the first time he had seen either of them smile in their sleep, and he thought it might not be too long before he got to see his fatherly dream of his biological daughter and his equally loved foster son married and settling down nearby.

The scene before him was almost too sweet to interrupt but that didn't stop him from splashing them both with cold water to wake them up for breakfast.


	28. Chapter 28

**Prompt from Guest. Barry leaves Iris at the police station in a hurry, so she decides to follow him. She catches him using super speed and confronts him later.**

**So, I realized that I switched prompts in the middle of the story.**

**Prompt 2 from Not a Nerd Just a Stranger. Iris gets kidnapped by a metahuman and Barry goes to save her without his mask, and Iris confronts him.**

A new metahuman was attacking Central City. He could read minds, which Cisco thought was totally awesome, other than the fact he was using it to steal government secrets.

Barry walked into the police station not really watching where he was going. He had too much on his mind, his training, being the Flash, hiding that he's the Flash, his real job, protecting his city, the list went on. Strangely enough his training that morning had been an attempt to clear his mind, so he could protect the people he cared about from the mind-reading metahuman. He wasn't doing really well on that task. For all he knew he could already be too late. Barry couldn't be sure what the other metahuman saw in his mind during their first encounter. His worry only filled his mind more and he had absolutely no idea how he could possibly fight this metahuman. No one even knew how he was doing this.

"Bar-RY!" He heard Iris exclaim.

"Oh, hi, Iris. I'm sorry." Barry stuttered.

"Has apologizing just become a kneejerk reaction for you, Bear?" She laughed and lightly hit his shoulder.

He pretended to be hurt. "It seems like it. How long had you been trying to get my attention?"

"Just a couple minutes." Barry opened his mouth to apologize, but Iris gave him a playful glare. "Don't you do it."

"I'm-" He met Iris's playful gaze and matched it.

"Don't you dare."

"What are you guys doing?" Barry had no idea how long Eddie had been watching them, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"Just messing around. How are you?" Iris turned her attention to her boyfriend, and Barry's heart sank.

"I'm good. Barry, did you get anything from the scene?"

"Nope, not a shred of useful evidence." _At least not that I could bring to the station._

"This case is insane."

"Almost impossible?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, we're going back to that now?" Eddie joked.

"I'm just saying; use the impossible to solve the impossible. Maybe the Flash would know something about it."

"I doubt he could. There is no information on this case whatsoever."

"It would be worth asking." She said in a singsong voice.

"Ok sure. You ask him." Eddie laughed.

"Ok, I will." She replied seriously.

"Wait, what?" Eddie stared at his girlfriend.

"So, Barry." Iris turned to him trying to change the subject. "Where did he go?"

Eddie pointed off to the side where Barry stood talking on the phone. Barry hung up and walked up to them.

"Sorry, I have to go." Barry turned and ran-at a normal speed-toward the door.

"Weird." Iris gave his retreating form a suspicious look. "I'm gonna follow him."

"Iris, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"C'mon, you're a detective. You know you're curious about _Barry_ disappearing." Iris tilted her head, and Eddie smiled guiltily.

"Ok, let's go."

The pair exited the building and crept into the alley Barry had turned into.

"What is that boy doing?" Eddie whispered to his girlfriend.

"Shhhh!" Iris turned her head to shush her boyfriend. When she turned back to watch her best friend, he was gone, and in his place a red blur. "Oh my-"

"Was that-? Is Barry-?" Eddie stuttered.

Iris nodded. "Uh-huh. I need to have a long hard talk with that boy."

"I wonder where he's off to in such a hurry." Eddie tried to joke. He was met with a blank stare.

Suddenly Iris's eyes widened as someone came around the corner and stuffed rags in her and her boyfriend's face. The world went black.

Iris woke up in what looked to be a large storage area. She and Eddie were tied back to back. A man sat watching them on the other side of the small room.

"Where are we?" Iris demanded of her captors.

"Oh, don't worry dear, you're little Flash will be here for you. He's found me here before, he'll do it again, especially with you as bait." The man ran his hand against Iris's face.

"Don't you dare touch her." A disguised voice growled. The voice was barely recognizable and Iris now understood why he had used it around her. She could recognize Barry's regular voice anywhere even now she could hear the familiar undertone of Barry's voice. It just sounded like auto tune.

"You can speak freely, your friends here already know you're little secret. You should really stop to take a look around before speeding off." The man bragged about nothing. Barry took off his mask. (It wasn't all that comfortable.)

Barry ran and untied Eddie and Iris. "You know, the Arrow told me the same thing, and then I got shot with two arrows in the back, but something tells me you're not quite that prepared."

"I don't need to shoot you. I have your weakness right behind me. You won't let them be hurt." He gestured to where Eddie and Iris were standing up.

The man held out a hand toward their heads, and immediately Iris screamed. Barry leapt into action. He ran towards the torturer at the fastest speeds he could reach with only a few feet of room. He attacked him with mile-a-minute punches.

The fight didn't last long, even a mind reader can only exert so much power before he quits.

"Don't think saving my life gets you off the hook for lying to me, Barry Allen. You will tell me every detail there is to know."

Barry did as he was told. He started with waking up at STAR Labs and told his best friend everything. He hesitated at the parts that involved Joe, but he knew that she would find out sooner or later. (More likely sooner with all the eggnog.) He finished with the phone call that made him leave work.

"So, when I've been telling you to work on your speed in the gym . . ." Eddie looked sheepish.

"I was trying very hard not to laugh." Barry smiled. Within seconds the other two had joined him smiling and laughing. They both continued to ask questions, and Barry answered as best as he could.

_It's nice not having to lie, _Barry thought.


	29. Chapter 29

**I don't have access to the episode so the scene will be a little different.**

**Prompt from Future Olympian. (In episode 8) During Barry's fit of rage, he lowers his mask when he's attacking Eddie.**

**Solution to the problem is based off of something I saw on Tumblr.**

Iris was confused. Nothing about this situation made sense. The Flash, a man she trusted, who had saved her life on multiple occasions, was attacking her boyfriend. There was one other thing she noticed; his eyes were glowing red. It was a different than the red that flashed through his eyes when he ran. It was solid instead of streak of lightning.

"Why are you doing this?" Iris demanded. "I thought- I thought you were my friend."

Barry's twisted mind didn't hear the hurt in his best friend's voice.

"You don't even know who I am. You never have, Iris!" The Flash turned to her for only a moment before turning back on Eddie.

Eddie was looking bad. He was bleeding from several parts of his body, and the Flash's attacks weren't slowing.

"Then-then tell me who you are. Let me know, let me help you. I know that this isn't you. Ever since you showed up all you have done is tie up criminals and save lives. You give hope. You have never been violent before now. What is going on?" Iris was desperately trying to get his attention away from Eddie.

"Maybe I decided I don't want people hunting me when all I've tried to do is help. I've devoted my entire life to getting people justice, helping them in any way I can, and he," he gestured to Eddie as he tried to get to his feet. The Flash kicked him back down, and Iris winced.

"Let me help you." She pleaded one last time.

The Flash pulled down his mask. Iris saw a face she had known her entire life and almost everything about the past few months since he woke up began to make sense, expect what was happening right now.

"Barry?" He looked Iris in the eye, and his eyes flashed back to normal for a split second. "You're not in control of your mind, are you?"

"What difference would it make?" He snarled in response.

Eddie had managed to stand during the small exchange. He couldn't make facial expressions very well due to how much damage his face had sustained, but Iris could tell he was surprised.

Iris stepped toward her friend.

"Iris, what are you doing? He's dangerous!" Eddie yelled.

"No, he isn't. He's Barry Allen. He had been my best friend for as long as I can remember, he has saved me from broken hearts, broken bones, metahumans, and car accidents. He will not hurt me even if he isn't in control of his mind." With each word she spoke, Iris moved closer to Barry, until she was close enough to give him a hug. "I know you're in there somewhere, Barry."

Barry's arms wrapped around the girl he had always loved and held her for a couple of minutes. Eventually she pulled back far enough to look at his face.

"Let me see your eyes." She told him.

She looked into those green eyes that told her the boy she had always counted on was back. He was in control of his head again.

He gasped and looked down at Eddie. "Wait here, Iris. I'll pick you up in a minute."

With that her best friend scooped her boyfriend into his arms and carried him away. Less than a minute later he returned and carried her bridal style to her boyfriend's hospital room.

Barry paced back and forth in the hospital room apologizing nonstop.

"Allen!" Eddie exclaimed. "I'll be okay. You weren't 'in control of your brain'. Though I'm still not sure how that happened and would appreciate it if you explained how that was possible."

Barry opened his mouth to speak, but Iris stopped him. "In English, Barry."

He chuckled at how well Iris knew him. "Another metahuman," Iris raised an eyebrow. "Another person affected by the particle accelerator explosion gained the power to make people incredibly angry for a limited amount of time by looking in him in the eye." Barry paused and looked at them both to see if they understood what he had said so far. "That's why the people in the bank turned on each other and why Joe's back up pointed his gun at the other officers. Because of my super speed the reaction somehow happened slower and affected me longer."

"I'm amazed how much explaining the science calmed you down." Iris laughed at her best friend.

"I'm amazed that you're calm at all. I tried to kill your boyfriend." Barry responded.

"_You _didn't, we've already established that it wasn't you. Not the real you anyway."

"Thanks."

"Barry, you might want to call Caitlyn. She's about to send a SWAT team looking for you." Everyone turned toward the doorway where Felicity stood.

"Yeah," Barry turned to call Caitlyn. Iris could hear Caitlyn yelling on the other end if the phone. "How did you find me? They know I'm the Flash so you can answer honestly." Barry asked when he came back.

"Can I watch everyone else's reaction to that?" Felicity asked teasingly.

"Haha. Can you answer my question, please?"

"Arrow found Iris's car abandoned with the window smashed, so he assumed you had taken them here, and snapped out of the angry hypnosis on your own."

"Technically Iris knocked me out of it." Barry shrunk into himself, freshly remembering everything he had done and said. He made a mental list of everyone he needed to apologize to.

"Just be back at the labs soon. We still have to catch the angry metahuman." Felicity called over her shoulder as she turned to leave.

"Felicity, wait." Iris called before she had gotten very far.

"What?"

"You work with the Arrow?"

"Yeah."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, that's the 'work' I had to call to see if I could stay for trivia night that one time."

"You'll have to introduce to him. Barry would be too afraid of my safety to even consider introducing me to another vigilante."

"He's not a very social guy, but I'll ask him." Felicity nodded.

"Arrow is wrapped around you finger." Barry mumbled.

"What was that Barry?" Felicity eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

With that Felicity left, and the others slipped into a comfortable silence.


	30. Chapter 30

**I'm trying to do the prompts in order, and there are lots of them, so if I don't get to yours for a while, I'm sorry, but I will get to it eventually. Though, I will do the Christmas related ones out of order, so I'm not posting Christmas stories in February.**

**Prompt from Hunter 10600. Follow up on future Barry married to Iris.**

Barry was afraid of what he would find upon returning to his time. He was well aware of the possibility of Iris having been dead longer than she had been when he landed in the past, but he was also aware of the possibility of her being alive and well.

He ran to his apartment but saw someone he didn't know enter the room. If this was no longer his place, where could he go?

_Joe's. _He mentally answered his question. _Maybe I can get some answers; like where did this ring come from?_

Barry arrived on Joe's porch step a few seconds later and paused. How could he have this conversation? He had just seen Joe's long dead daughter, and had been unable to warn her about the accident that would take her life. All he had managed to do was tell her his secret earlier, which, to be honest, made him a little relieved.

Eventually, Barry mustered up the courage to pull out his key and unlock the door of the house where he had spent so much time throughout his life.

His heart nearly stopped when he entered the room.

There sitting on the couch eating a brownie, was the face of the love of his life, his girlfriend, his best friend, his greatest loss, his _Iris. _Besides her face the rest of her was hidden by the couch.

"Iris?" Barry said in shock.

"Hey, honey, are you ok?"

"Yeah, are you?"

"Barry, you're scaring me." She paused and looked back at him curiously. "Where were you?"

"That's complicated."

"_When_ were you?"

"2014."

"I knew this was coming up sooner rather than later. Why were you so surprised to see me?" Iris looked at his lost face. "I had died before you ended up back in time. That was why you acted strange around me back then."

"I had lost you four months ago in a bizarre accident." Barry said hanging his head. It was an odd thing to have to explain to someone that they were dead.

"Do you have any memory of the things in time you changed?"

Barry shook his head. "All I know is we had been dating for three weeks. We had started right after I told you about being the Flash." Barry looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry I just need to know you're real." He started walking toward her.

"Stop." She told him. "What you're about to see will be quite a shock, given the state of your memory. It is your fault, and my dad is happy because . . ." Her sentence trailed off, and she showed him her left hand which sported a wedding ring. _They were married? _ Barry was amazed at how one small change made his life go from a devastating story to a dream come true.

Barry stepped around to the point where he could see Iris's entire form. She was pregnant, very pregnant.

"What- How-"

"What: twins. How: you're a scientist you should know where babies come from."

Barry smirked in return and hugged his wife. _His wife._ He never thought he would be lucky enough to call her that.

"Boys? Girls? One of each?"

"One of each." She replied smiling down at her stomach. "I'm beginning to suspect they inherited your speed. They kick like crazy."

Barry laughed. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that Iris was alive. It would be quite a while before he could believe that they were married and about to have twins.

"When are they due?" He met her eyes and they seemed worried and excited all at the same time.

"Wednesday."

"Wednesday? That's in two days!"

"Barry, I meant last Wednesday."

Iris laughed at how wide Barry's eyes spread. At any minute his wildest dreams could come true.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything that you changed when you travelled back, Barry?"

"Our wedding colors were red and white." Iris smiled at the memory of how much Barry had fought against having his Flash suit color for their wedding, but had broken down when he saw her excitement. "We live next door. Wait- we live next door to Joe?"

"Yeah. Anything else?"

"No."

"Not even that your dad has been out of jail for two years now, and that the real criminal is being held in a metahuman prison outside of the lab."

Barry and Iris spent the rest of the time until Joe got home for dinner with Iris telling Barry about everything important that had happened since 2014, and Barry randomly told her facts that he remembered.

Explaining the situation to Joe was interesting. Barry was just glad Joe had had to except the possibility of the impossible a long time ago.

The family of three, about to be five, sat down to eat and talk like a normal happy family.

Eventually the time came for Barry and Iris to go next door to their own house where Iris continued catching Barry up on what he had changed on his short trip to the past. It was peaceful, and Barry got the best sleep he had had since Iris had died.

Well, at least it was peaceful until Iris woke up screaming in pain in the middle of the night. Their family was ready to double in size. Barry scooped her up into his arms and ran to the hospital as fast as he could without setting his wife on fire. He dropped her off and in less than a minute returned with a groggy, confused Joe who had not woken up until he was half way to the hospital.

Two hours later, Don and Dawn Allen were sitting in the hospital nursery.


	31. Chapter 31

**Prompt from Cas-the-Unicorn. Someone captures both of them while they are on the roof talking and that person could know that they're close (Captain Cold), and he pulls off his mask to "ruin their lives."**

Barry was on his way to Jitters. The rooftop meetings with Iris seemed to have become a regular activity. For now, they had settled in meeting every Tuesday in addition to when Iris needed to pass him information.

He looked into the window of the coffee shop briefly and saw Iris looking bored, waiting for him. He hurried inside and cleaned up the store. She hadn't even started the work, knowing he could and would do it for her. Iris never changed even when they were little she would put off her chores because she knew he would help her without a second thought. Iris was a hard worker, but when she could get help, she would take it.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"No problem." He said scooping her up and running to the roof.

"I wonder if I'll ever get used to that." Iris said as he set her on her feet.

"I still haven't."

"There's no hope for me then, good."

"Good?" Barry narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to the right.

"It's nice being able to have someone impossible like you. There are few people that can break up the monotony of regular life but are still dependable. The only other person I can think of is Barry." She sighed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just confused." She paused as if expecting him to ask a question. When he remained silent, she continued, making him feel very awkward. "I-I mean Barry told me he loved me, like really loves me. Those were words I never thought I'd hear come out of his mouth. I waited years for them, but they never came." Barry's heart lurched. "I was starting to think he was gay." Barry was trying so hard not to laugh or cry. "I mean, he never went out with anyone, not even Felicity with her really short skirts. But, then he tells me he loves me, and all the feelings I had tried for so long to suppress came to the surface, but I have a boyfriend that I really like, and-" Iris stopped mid-rant. "You seem uncomfortable."

"Uh, well-"

"That's not a very good answer."

"Ummmm-"

Barry turned at the sound of gunfire. Not normal gunfire, but something he considered much worse. A cold gun. A cold gun that could only mean one person. Captain Cold was coming up to the roof.

Barry ran to grab Iris, but Captain Cold was already through the door aiming the gun at her. All he had tie to do was step in front of her.

"Ralph!" Iris exclaimed seeing him lurch in pain.

"Ralph?" Captain Cold questioned. "I don't think so."

"What do you want Snart?"

"I was here to kill you, but I think I have a better idea. I'll distract you."

The Flash glared at him. "Distract me with what?"

Snart aimed the gun at Barry's feet, but he was too weak to get away. Snart walked steadily toward him.

"Iris, run. If you have any wish to live, run. Please, run. I can't take you."

"I'm not leaving you here!" Iris shouted at him.

"Oh, don't worry little Flash. I'm not going to hurt her, or you for that matter. I don't have to. I don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary, and while I need to destroy you, I don't have to kill you."

"How noble." Iris retaliated sarcastically.

Snart glared at her. "What a catch." He said turning back to Barry.

"Leave. Her. Alone." He spoke in a staccato tone that would have been seen as threatening if he hadn't been frozen in place.

"I won't even touch her, I promise. Though you had other girls last time. The blonde leader and the cranky girl."

Iris couldn't help but feel hurt, he had said there were no other girls. While Iris was thinking to herself, Snart had made his way to the Flash. He shot the Flash one last time to make sure he didn't have the energy to vibrate his face and keep his disguise, then Captain Cold ripped off the Flash's mask.

Iris reeled toward him. "Barry?"

"I'm sorry, but I guess you know why I found our last conversation awkward."

Snart watched them stare at each other for a while before leaving to rob an armored car without opposition.

"How do I help you, Barry? I don't know what to do to warm you up." Iris knelt at his feet looking at the ice that surrounded his feet, not even showing the first sign of melting.

"In a few minutes I'll be able to vibrate enough to melt it, and I'll get my strength back."

"Not good enough, I need you well now. You need to be ok." Iris refused to meet his eyes. Already today she had told him that she had loved him for quite a while but thought he was gay. She tilted her head just enough to see his reaction to her next thought. "Partially so I can hit you."

Barry laughed. "If you can catch me. Ow!"

True to his word seven minutes later Barry was ready to vibrate through the ice, melting it as he went.

"So, who were the other girls Snart mentioned? Huh, Barry?" Iris smirked.

"Felicity and Caitlyn. Felicity knew I was the Flash because I forgot she worked coms for someone I went to for advice, and the STAR Labs team has been training me and helping me with catching and stopping other metahumans."

"Felicity works for the Arrow?"

"What- how-" Barry stuttered.

"I'm not an idiot, Barry. I'm actually very observant, except apparently about your feelings and I guess my own, but what you just described made it pretty obvious." What Iris didn't tell him, was her suspicion about Oliver being the Arrow being Oliver Queen.

"Right. So, did you mean what you said about having feelings for me?"

"Of course I did." Iris felt herself wrapped up in Barry's now warm arms.

He smelled so perfectly Barry-ish that she never wanted to move.


	32. Chapter 32

**Prompt from Somebody That Cares. Iris finds out because he does/knows something that only Barry does/knows, but waits to see if he will tell her. While she waits she realizes her feelings for him. **

"Hey, Flash." Iris said as she felt a slight breeze and was suddenly on the roof.

"Hi." Barry couldn't help but smile at his best friend.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, each soaking up the other's presence like this was their last chance to be together.

"Tell me a story." Iris said suddenly.

"What?"

"Tell me a story." The Flash laughed at her request. "I'm serious. Tell me something about your past."

"Iris, we've been over this. I can't-"

"Then make one up, but tell me _something_." Iris pleaded.

"I've never been very good at stories." Iris stared at him expectantly. "Once upon a time-"

Iris laughed. "Once upon a time?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? It's a normal beginning to a made up story."

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong with it." She said trying to suppress laughter.

"Do you want a story or not." The Flash gave a mock offended laugh and gestured for her to sit beside him.

She nodded in response and sat down next to him.

"Once upon a time there was a boy who had exactly one friend. She was all he needed. They were polar opposites, she was popular, he was a nerd, she was sensible, he was crazy, but they worked. Neither one of them cared that they were different. They were there for each other at a moment's notice. As they grew up hard times hit. The girl lost her mother at the age of three **(?)**, the boy lost his parents at the age of eleven."

"C'mon at least give them names."

"Okay, we'll call them Ann and Henry." Iris looked down at the Flash's hand. He was tapping his fingers in the same pattern Barry always did; first finger, third finger, second finger, fourth finger, first finger, third finger, second finger, fourth finger, on and on. Iris shook herself and turned her attention back to the story. "Henry began to fall in love with Ann, but she didn't notice. He was too afraid of ruining their relationship that he never told her." There was emotion in the Flash's voice that Iris hadn't heard from him before. It was a mixture of hurt, resignation, and sadness. "Ann still came to him with everything, cried on his shoulder when boys broke her heart, and Henry just comforted her the best he could. He grew to love how much she trusted him, but he also came to except that sometimes the impossible really was impossible."

"That was a depressing story, but it felt more real than you do."

"More real than I am?" The Flash gave her a confused look.

"You run faster than sound, you're a hero, you're the humblest person I know, besides Barry, and you singled _me_ out. Any girl would be amazed by and open to a superhero giving them regular visits and help with their chores. Some days it feel like I'm going to wake up, and I'll have been the one in the coma, not Barry, and this has all been some coma hallucination-"

"Iris, I'm real. I'm here. I'm alive." The Flash gently took her hand and placed it over his heart, just like Barry had done a few months earlier. "My heart is beating." His heart was beating _fast._

_Barry,_ she thought, _this is why I'm so comfortable around this powerful stranger. He's not a stranger._

If Barry noticed the change in her mood, he didn't let on.

By the time they left the rooftop that night she had plenty of time to think about the story he had told. Barry had basically just confessed his love for her in a round-a-bout way, but maybe he was making things up and mixing it with the truth. Iris didn't know, she didn't even know which explanation she preferred. There was a chance her best friend was in love with her, and she didn't know how to feel. There was a time when they were younger, when she thought that he would be the man she would marry. Barry had been her only guy friend, and she had always thought he was cute, even if he was the nerdiest person she knew.

_But, did that mean anything?_ _Did she love him now?_ It was all so confusing. Iris's heart had never had to make a choice before. She had always had Barry and hadn't needed anything else until he was in a coma and Detective Pretty Boy had helped to ease the pain of the situation. There hadn't been a time where she had had to make a choice.

Two weeks later she had realized she couldn't keep leading Eddie on. The more Iris thought about her feeling, and her relationship with Barry, the happier she felt. If that happiness at the thought of another person wasn't love, than Iris didn't even know where to begin find what love was.

Eddie had felt Iris grow more and more distant, and he thought he knew why. He had suspected Barry's feelings for Iris the first time he had seen the two friends talking, but he had genuinely thought Iris cared for him the way he cared for her. Eddie knew when things needed to end so he had broken things off with Iris. It had been awkward and t broke both their hearts- Eddie's more so that Iris's- but both knew it was right.

He couldn't change her heart, it had been claimed far too long ago.

Iris was a little frustrated. It had been over a month since she had figured out he was the Flash, and he still hadn't told her he was. She was his best friend, how could he not tell her about something this huge? But, Iris had finally made a decision.

"Barry, do you want to go out Friday?" Iris asked feeling kind of awkward.

"Sure, what do you want to do?" Barry misunderstood what she was asking.

"Movie, dinner, maybe go for a walk?" She was still feeling awkward, and she was starting to realize how Barry felt when she was completely oblivious to him.

"Sounds great."

"You do realize I'm asking you on a date right?" Iris raised her eyebrows at her best friend as he took a swig of coffee.

He choked on the hot liquid and coughed for a minute. "What?" Barry asked with a smile growing on his face.

"A date, with me. Do you want to?"

"Yes." Complete happiness would not be close to describing how Barry felt at this moment, but he remembered something, and his smile fell. "But, I have to tell you something first."

Iris smiled, _was he finally going to tell her the truth?_

Barry waited for her to get off work and then they went to a large clearing. It was the clearing where STAR Labs had first tested his speed.

Barry glanced back at his best friend and sped off. Iris watched him run around, red electricity trailing behind him, in amazement but not surprise. After a few minutes he stopped behind her.

"I get called away to take care of things pretty often, I didn't want you to think I was blowing you off if I got called away during our date, but I need you to understand, this is dangerous. You've been kidnapped just for writing a blog about me. No one can even suspect that you know who I am. I can't let you get hurt."

Iris just smiled at her best friend. "I did a good job at letting you know that I knew."

"What?!" Barry exclaimed.

"I've known you my whole life Barry. I'm surprised it too me as long as it did. When you were telling me that story on the rooftop, I noticed things. All the small nervous ticks you have and all the things you don't realize that you do, the Flash did them too. No two people are that alike, it had to be you." Iris looked him in the eye the whole time he was speaking. Her gaze held him captive like he had always been too afraid to allow it to.

"So, is the date still on then?" Barry asked goofily.

"Of course." Iris answered wrapping herself in his arms. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time, we both have." The walked away from the clearing hand in hand.


	33. Chapter 33

**Prompt from Arglebargles. Iris and the Flash argue, and he forgets to disguise his voice.**

Barry was scared. Iris had followed him to an active crime scene a few hours ago. She had nearly been killed. In the process of saving her, he had let the criminal get away.

Joe had been furious, not about Barry losing the guy obviously, but about Iris putting herself danger. Barry was not surprised when Joe asked him if there was anything 'the other guy' could do about it. Barry had choked down a laugh when he referred to the Flash as 'the other guy.' He understood that the only reason he said it that way was because they were in a crowded area, but it was still felt a little ridiculous.

"I'll see what I can do." Barry told him.

"Do better than last time." Joe said referring to his accidentally convincing Iris to put her name on her blog. Joe was stern, but Barry knew he didn't blame him.

"Yeah." Barry's eyes were downcast, just because Joe didn't blame him, but that didn't mean Barry didn't blame himself for the danger Iris was in. He wouldn't let her be put in anymore danger.

"Iris, please." Barry began, while vibrating his vocal chords. Iris immediately knew where he was going.

"No, I will not stop writing. No, I will not stop following you." Iris assumed her 'give it up I'm stubborn and you're going to lose' pose. Barry had seen it many times. The crossed arms, stern eyes, tight lips, wide stance that meant there was nothing in the world you could do to change her mind, and yet it had never swayed Barry. He was her best friend and he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

"Please," He met her eyes and they seemed to soften just a little. "You could have died tonight."

"But I didn't. You saved me. You have always been there to save me."

"Iris, there have been people that have died because I couldn't get to them. I don't want that to be you."

"I took care of myself for 24 years before I met you. I can by myself the time I need to allow you to get to me, _or_ like with William Tockman, I can save myself." She raised her voice with each word and stepped closer to him.

"In those 24 years you never went up against a metahuman or someone equipped to fight a metahuman. Believe me when I say William Tockman was an easy target. The worst he could do to you was shoot you. There are metahumans out there who are capable of killing with a glance." Barry spoke slowly and deliberately for his last plea. "Don't make yourself more of a target, Iris. I need you. I need you to be safe. I won't always be there to protect you if you go looking for trouble. It would kill me." Somewhere along the line, he wasn't sure where, he had spoken to slowly. His voice stopped vibrating and Iris could hear his real voice.

"Barry?" Iris swapped her stubborn stance for one of shock. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide and soft.

He nodded. "Do you understand, now?" He met her eyes. He hadn't meant to confess his secret, but maybe he could make some good come out of it. "I could not live with myself if so much as a hair on your head was harmed because I wasn't there to get you out of trouble. I can't let you put yourself in danger trying to find me."

"Barry?" She repeated.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She looked hurt but there was also a splash of curiosity in her expression.

"The same reason why you can't follow me. It wasn't safe to tell you."

"So, why tell me now? You're warning me to be safe and telling me a secret you hid to keep me safe. That doesn't make any sense, Bear."

"If knowing I'm the Flash has a chance of keeping you out of the danger you out _yourself_ in, it's at least worth a try. I know I can trust you to keep my secret, hopefully I can keep people from knowing you're close to me."

Iris was silent for a while.

"Please talk to me." Barry begged.

"Does that mean these nightly rooftop talks have to end?" Iris asked quietly.

"Yes, it does." Barry replied sadly.

Iris knew how he would answer, and they both knew they would still be able to spend that time together, but it would be different. There was something new and exciting about Barry's cryptic nature when he talked to her as the Flash. Barry would miss being able to openly flirt with her without it feeling awkward and out of place. Iris was embarrassed to admit it, even to herself, but what she would miss the most was the feeling of being swooped into Barry's strong arms even if it was only for a few seconds. She knew Barry would hold her in his arms as long as she wanted him to, but it would be weird. What if that creepy request was the final thing that drove her amazing best friend away?

Both of the friends wished things could stay as they were, but neither was able to think of a legitimate reason to keep up their clandestine meetings after Jitter's closing time.

"We should go home." Iris broke the silence.

"Yeah." Barry agreed simply.

"One more thing." Iris said hesitantly. She was afraid. "Carry me? One last trip."

"Whoever said this was the last time I would carry you? I will give you a ride as often as you would like me to."

Iris's smile returned to her face.

_Maybe things won't change all that much_. Barry thought. _Or maybe he and Iris needed a change. Felicity had mentioned that maybe change wasn't a bad thing._


	34. Chapter 34

**Prompt from Modern Dinosaur. Eddie and Iris are for some reason looking for Barry and Joe, and go to STAR Labs only to find out that Barry is the Flash and is working with the Arrow and his team.**

"Hey Eddie." Iris said slightly awkwardly, walking into the main area of the precinct.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Eddie replied equally awkward. They had broken up the week before but were trying to remain friends because he was still her father's partner. It wasn't going too well, no matter how hard they tried.

"I'm looking for my dad. Do you know where he went? He wasn't in his office."

"I think he and Barry went to STAR Labs to borrow some equipment."

"Dang. I walked here. I need to go call a cab." Iris pulled her phone out of her purse and began to walk away.

"Wait, Iris, I need to go talk to them about the case anyway. I could drive you." Eddie shyly offered.

"Okay, that would be nice. Thanks." Iris answered hesitantly. She really didn't want to sit through a ten minute ride with her ex, but she also really didn't want to walk there alone, and Eddie already knew she hated cabs. Insisting on taking a cab could blow the 'friends' thing even earlier than she was expecting. Barry could always walk her back home, so it would only be one ride. What could go wrong with one car ride?

"Good. Let's head out then." Eddie reached out to guide her by the small of her back, but quickly pulled his hand back. That was the hardest part for him; getting over the natural, small habits he had picked up while they were dating. He had never had to do that before on account of never trying to stay friends with his ex-girlfriends, there had never been reason to.

The car ride to STAR Labs had been incredibly uncomfortable. They had been silent the entire way there, the only sound was the quiet music coming from the radio. It was looking like this friendship had no hope.

_Would this happen to Barry and me if we dated? _Iris thought to herself and quickly pushed the thought out of her head. It wasn't going to happen, she wouldn't risk the happiness she had with Barry. She would die before she lost her Barry again.

When they arrived, Iris went straight up to the lab she knew all too well. The lab that held too many memories of Barry . . . of Barry being lost to her.

But, when she walked into the room, she was reminded that he was still alive in a very unexpected way. The first thing she saw when she walked in was a man in a green suit. Next she saw her best friend in a familiar red suit.

"36th street. Go now!" Caitlyn yelled at the two men.

"Uh, guys." Felicity drew the suited men's attention. "Eddie, and Iris."

Barry slowly turned around to face them. "Hey guys." He gave a nervous laugh. "Joe, this is not my fault."

Eddie and Iris stared at the group. How do you process the fact that your peaceful, kind of helpless best friend is a super hero and is working with a former murderer? It was amazing, but, Iris couldn't make sense of it in her head.

"We need to go." The Arrow growled.

"We'll be back." Eddie and Iris stood still, and no one at all responded.

Oliver could tell Barry was distracted and worried throughout the entire confrontation. The gravity changing metahuman used it against him to the best of his ability. Oliver shot arrows that immediately fell to the ground due to increased gravity. Barry couldn't move as fast because he weighed exponentially more the closer he got to the metahuman. Oliver eventually got close enough to the man to land a few hard punches. The man's power weakened enough to allow Barry to get to them. But, just because his powers weren't working quite as well, doesn't mean he couldn't fight. The two vigilantes both had broken bones and other injuries. The metahuman was left unconscious.

Soon they were headed back to STAR Labs and a very terrifying conversation.

Semi-fortunately for Barry, he was too exhausted run back, so he could put the dreaded conversation out of his head. Unfortunately, Oliver had brought his motorcycle, so he wasn't able to put it off for that long.

They arrived back at STAR Labs fifteen minutes after they had captured the metahuman. Both men pulled down their hoods, and Diggle and Cisco took the meta down to the particle accelerator.

Oliver turned to Barry. "I know a recipe for a memory erasing tea."

Barry slowly turned to look at Oliver, blinking rapidly. "First, no. Second, what?"

"It works with coffee too."

"Still not going to let you drug my friends, _Ollie_." Barry deadpanned. Oliver growled at the nick name Eddie and Iris looked horrified at the suggestion.

"Why would you even suggest that?" Felicity questioned.

"Kid looks afraid of this confession."

"That's not a valid reason to drug my best friend." Barry turned to Iris and Eddie. "Questions?"

"Is he safe?" Eddie asked pointing to Oliver.

"For the most part, yes." Barry answered.

"That's not all that comforting."

"He will only attack you if you threaten someone or something he cares about, and he will only kill if I ask him to or if I'm in danger, so basically you're safe." Felicity explained.

"How does it feel to control a city hero?" Iris asked her.

"You already know the answer to that." Felicity replied.

Iris stared at Oliver and Barry.

"I'm going to go change." Oliver said as he walked out of the room.

All of the others quickly made their own excuses to leave until it was just Barry and Iris.

"Barry," Iris shook her head looking at her best friend. "I understand how the STAR Labs team would know about your speed. I understand that you told my dad, and I know my dad would've had something to do with you not telling me, but why didn't I know before he did? Why did Oliver and Felicity know before I did?"

"I was still figuring things out for myself. I couldn't tell you at that point because I didn't really know. Even after Joe had seen me use my speed, I didn't understand everything about it. I never told Joe about my speed, he saw it when I was fighting Marden. I went to Oliver for advice on what I should do. A man had already died because I couldn't save him from Marden. Oliver was the only person I knew who understood what a life like this meant. What it could do to a person. Felicity works his coms and overheard everything we talked about. Iris, I wanted to tell you. There were just too many things happening, and it was too dangerous. Please, I need you to forgive me."

"You're my best friend, Barry. I will always forgive you, no matter what stupid things you do."

They were silent for a minute.

"I know you're listening, you can come back in now." Barry said keeping his voice the same level. All of his friends reentered the room faster than they would have been able to had they not been eavesdropping. Barry rolled his eyes at their antics.

Iris held her head high and pretended to be business like. "Now, I require demonstrations, from both of you." She gave Barry and Oliver pointed looks.

"Oh, you have to see Oliver do the salmon ladder." Felicity said excitedly.

"It's one of the best things you will ever see." Caitlyn readily agreed.

"I like the way this sounds." Iris had a feeling they were telling the truth. Also she waskind of liking jealous ex and best friend.

"C'mon guys!" Barry exclaimed. "Not fair."


	35. Chapter 35

**Prompt from Guest. Alternate version of the "I never want to see you again" Iris-Barry scene. Maybe Barry felt so guilty he had to tell her the truth (in the most dramatic way possible).**

Barry couldn't feel worse than he did right now. Just today he had yelled at Captain Singh, yelled at Joe, told Caitlyn he wasn't Ronnie and to stop acting like he was, attacked Oliver, and had tried to kill Eddie.

Now he was on his way to apologize to Iris. He wasn't naïve enough to believe she would forgive him, no matter how much he wished that was the case. This situation just wasn't that simple, he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.

He waited of the roof, knowing she would come.

"I wanted you to know, tonight, that, that wasn't me." _At least not all me._ Barry mentally added.

"Sure looked like you." Iris looked as if she was trying to block herself off from all emotion, but he knew her well enough to know she was on the verge of tears.

"Y-yeah, I-I was affected by one of the metahumans. He messed up my head. I'm okay now I promise." Barry was desperate for her to believe him. He was prepared to do anything.

"I defended you. Everyone told me that you would bring me nothing but danger; my father, Barry, Eddie. I didn't listen to them, I never listened to them, and now it's time I did. Don't contact me anymore, okay?" Barry's heart broke at every word. It was true he was dangerous, but _he _himself was not supposed to be the threat, and he wasn't anymore. How could he get that through to her?

"Iris, I'm sorry." He knew it was a weak plea and it would have absolutely no effect on the intelligent girl in front of him that knew him better than anyone else in the world ever had, the same girl that didn't know who he was.

"Me too." Iris turned to leave walking slowly, hoping that he would stop her, but knowing that there was nothing he could say to make this ok. But, maybe? He had saved her so many times. Maybe he was telling the truth about being affected by another metahuman.

"Iris, wait." She stopped but didn't even turn to look at him. Iris knew that her will would break if she looked at him.

Her heart was breaking just as much as it did when Barry said they shouldn't see each other for a while. But this was Iris's choice. The man she was speaking to had just ripped her boyfriend out of a moving car and beat him repeatedly. Iris didn't know what would have happened if the Arrow hadn't shown up to stop him. She allowed, more like forced, the images of earlier that night to run through her head and remind her why she was pushing the Flash away. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't because she was worried she was getting to close to him, and that it wasn't because she didn't want to feel the way she did for someone whose name she didn't know. The Flash could only be a nameless dream, and it was easier, safer, if that dream was a nightmare.

"One, give me one reason why I should believe you? Why should I forgive you?" Iris demanded a tear finally making its way down her face. Barry hung his head. He never wanted her to cry.

"I don't expect you to ever forgive me. What I did was inexcusable, but I do want you to know that I wasn't in control of myself. I would _never_ willfully hurt you or anyone you care about." Iris turned just her head to look at him. He met her gaze. "I just want you to know you're safe. I have always wanted to protect you. _It was not me on that road._"

"How can I know that? I don't know who you are. All I really know about you is that you hide behind a mask and a false voice. How could I possibly know that what I saw earlier today wasn't the real you, and the hero I've been following, defending, wasn't just a show you put on."

"Because, you do know me." Iris turned to look at the Flash as he slowly and deliberately pulled off his mask.

Iris didn't know how she avoided fainting in shock or screaming in anger. Why couldn't her life be simple? She just stood there in silence for several minutes, staring at her best friend. The man she had called her guardian angel, but had just tried to kill her boyfriend, was her best friend.

"So, how did a metahuman get you to-" She was about say 'try to kill' but she couldn't. "_Attack_ Eddie?"

Barry let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. "The metahuman's eyes would turn red and anyone who looked him in the eye would suddenly be crazy angry. The color of his eyes kind of threw off the neurons in people's brains. For normal people the affect was temporary, but my speed and cellular regeneration fought off the metahuman's affects for a while. Fighting it off didn't work it just increased the duration of the affects. Arrow had to fight me and get me into a chokehold to stare at different colors of light to reverse the effects, but it worked. I'm back to normal." Barry said it all in one breath.

"I might have understood three words of that." Iris replied.

"Please tell me there's a but."

"But I do know you." Iris looked up at him. "I'm still mad at you. For a lot of reasons-"

"Understood."

"But I believe you."

"Thank you."

"What are we going to do? Eddie's task force will be approved after what happened tonight."

Barry sighed outwardly, but smiled inwardly. She was concerned about him. Even after he just told her about a big secret that he'd been lying about right to her face after trying to kill her boyfriend, and _she was concerned about him._

"We let him get a task force. The station doesn't have the resources to get anything that could actually stop me." Barry shrugged.

"Except guns. You're not immortal Barry."

"No, I'm not immortal, but I'm faster than bullets and cars. Even if the task force could get to me, I heal fast. I'll be okay, Iris."

"Maybe I could talk to him. Explain things." Iris suggested. "The task force would still be a threat, Barry. What if you were distracted?"

Barry smiled at her. He had a choice; he could let her do something that had the potential to wreck her relationship, or he could deal with people hunting him while he tried to protect people.

"It would be suspicious if you saw me attack your boyfriend and still defended me against him."

"But I want you to be safe, Barry."

"I will be. I promise."


	36. Chapter 36

**Prompt from Leia Amidala Skywalker. Barry is using his super speed to decorate the Christmas tree and Iris walks in on him using it without realizing it.**

Barry walked into the West house and immediately felt at home. He had spent so many Christmases here. Even before he had moved in here, he had spent the days leading up to Christmas here. After Iris's mother died, she had started inviting him to decorate the tree, and he had done so every year since.

He peered around the corner and into the living room where the décor was the boxes full of decorations waiting to be put up.

"Hey guys." He said coming into the living room where he was greeted by smiling faces. Iris looked so excited that her smile might jump off her face. Barry was always amazed at how much she had kept that childlike Christmas joy year after year. It made his smile grow almost as large as hers.

But there was something in her eyes that wasn't there most years. A twinge of sadness hid behind her Christmas spirit. He knew she would tell him after Joe inevitably got called away to work. For now, Barry just gave his best friend a hug.

"Hey Bear." Iris said into his shoulder. She breathed his familiar scent in, reveling in the comfort it always brought. Suddenly she felt as if she could survive all the emotions swirling around in her head. She realized she had been hugging him for an awkward amount of time and pulled back. Barry could have held onto that hug forever. Iris managed to put a smile on her face for her dad. "_I _am going to make some eggnog." She quickly raised and lowered her eyebrows and winked, so Barry knew it would be 'light' on the bourbon. "You two, get to work on that tree."

Barry and Joe went outside where the tree was tied onto the top of the car. Together they worked to untie it and pull it off the car. They carried it over to the door, only to realize it was closed.

"Iris!" Barry shouted hoping she would be able to hear him in the kitchen. They waited a minute, but Joe was starting to get tired.

"We need to set it down." Joe said.

"It'll be harder to pick it up if we put it down. I can hold it while you open the door." Barry suggested.

"I know you're stronger than I'm used to but that's a big tree, Barry."

"I can do it." Barry assured.

Right as Joe made it up to the door, Iris swung it open.

"Sorry, I was covered in egg, so I couldn't get to the door." Iris explained as Joe ran back to take his place carrying the tree. She turned to Barry. "When did you get so strong? That's a big tree, Bear."

"I've . . . been . . . working out." He answered with only half a lie.

"Uh huh." She nodded looking at him with more surprise than he thought was necessary. _No wonder he looks so nice._ Iris thought against her will.

Joe and Barry got the tree inside and into the living room with little trouble. While Barry turned the tree so the best looking side faced out, Joe collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.

"You outta go to the gym with Barry, Dad." Iris joked, poking her head into the living room to look at the tree.

"Okay let's get started." Joe said standing up. Barry followed him to the boxes full of decorations they had acquired over the years. Most of them were childish, but that made it all the more fun. Barry had never known the Wests to get rid of ornaments. As a result none of them matched. They were in every color of the rainbow and more as Iris described, and it was obvious that they had been gathered over the years. Some had baby pictures of Iris and even a few of Barry that they had taken from the boxes in his attic when he moved in. Some were toy trains, or fluffy little reindeer, that Iris had picked out when she was a toddler. There was an ornament that was a countdown to Christmas, Joe had gotten after Iris asked him fifteen times in one day how long she would have to wait until Christmas. Then there were the newer ones that Iris had bought claiming the tree was not quite mismatched enough. They were simple red and gold bulbs that reflected the lights all around the room.

"Just two boxes left." Joe said casually.

"Great at this rate we'll be done by Christmas." Barry rolled his eyes sarcastically. Then he got a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Don't even-" Joe cautioned, hoping he'd do it anyway. He did not disappoint.

Seconds later the tree was beautifully decorated, and Barry was sitting smugly on the couch.

Iris stood still and unnoticed in the doorway from the kitchen. She was holding the tray of drinks tightly though she had almost dropped them in shock.

"The only red suited dude I want in this house right now is Kris Kringle, you got it?"

Iris watched as Barry reluctantly stood up and sped around the tree again. With a few second the tree was exactly as it had been moments before.

Joe started laughing at his son's antics, and Barry started handing him ornaments.

Iris walked in. "Why shouldn't a red suited dude decorate our tree? We could spend more time enjoying watching it that way."

Barry dropped the ornaments he was holding and slowly turned to look at her.

"You saw that?"

"My comment wouldn't have made sense if I hadn't."

Joe sighed.

"Have fun explaining that one, son." Joe said. It was a fitting punishment for being careless.

Iris turned to her father. "You're not off the hook. You knew about this too."

"We just wanted to protect you Iris." Her father said looking her in the eye. She knew that would have been his reason from the second she saw that Barry was the Flash, but that didn't mean she had to like it or agree.

Joe's phone rang and for the first Christmas since he had become a cop, he was grateful.

"And the Christmas tradition continues." He said as he answered and headed toward the door. "Save me some eggnog." He called as he walked outside into the cold.

"No promises." Barry said taking a long sip. He had a very interesting conversation in store, he was going to need all the eggnog he could get.

"Decorate the tree." Iris said giddily as soon as the door closed behind her father.

"What?" Barry said.

"Decorate it. I want to see you run again without the suit."

Barry complied. He was just relieved that she didn't seem mad at him for hiding this from her.

"You're not mad at me?" Barry asked timidly as soon as he finished.

"It's Christmas. I'm not allowed to be mad at anyone." Iris said smiling as she sat down beside him. She was closer than she usually sat when she wasn't upset.

"There it is again. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

"Iris, I know you better than that. The semi-sad look when I came in, the lingering hug, sitting close to me like you want to be held, those are all things you do when you're upset. Don't try to deny it, I've known you too long for that."

Iris sighed deeply. "I broke up with Eddie."

"What, why?" Barry said thinking of dead puppies to keep from smiling at his friend's situation.

"I felt confused, and what I was confused about wasn't fair to Eddie."

"_I'm_ a little confused." Barry said putting his arm around her. She cuddled into his side and cried silently.

"I thought that I was in love with Eddie, but I discovered that I wasn't. I felt stronger for two other guys than I ever did for Eddie. That part didn't make sense to me until a few minutes ago."

"What happened a few minutes ago?"

Iris shook her head. "It has the potential to make Christmas awkward, so I will not risk it."

"Iris, you can tell me anything." The sincerity in his voice made Iris wonder if confessing could make Christmas better.

"I realized the two other people were the same person."

"Huh?" Barry's eyebrows scrunched up.

Iris laid her head on his lap and laughed softly. Barry stroked her hair and asked what was so funny.

"You're a complete genius, but somehow you're also an idiot." She turned her head up so she could look him in the eye. "I love you, Barry."

Barry was shocked he had expected his feelings to be unrequited forever. "I love you too, Iris." Their grins were as wide as they had ever been.

This was their Christmas. There would be nothing awkward, nothing sad, just two best friends with a lot of love instead of secrets between them.

**Merry Christmas Eve everybody. Love ya.**


	37. Chapter 37

**This isn't a prompt just a Christmas-y thought.**

Barry arrived at the West house cold but excited. Christmas had finally come and it had brought the first snowstorm of the season with it.

"Hey, Iris. Where're Joe and Eddie?" Barry said as he came in.

"Dad's upstairs getting more blankets, and I told Eddie this Christmas would just be family." Iris said looking down.

"There's more to that story and I know it." Barry sat down next to her.

"We, dad and I decided that we would all curl up in this room with a lot of blankets and sleep down here by the tree tonight. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Iris." Barry looked at her and she reached out for him. He pulled her closer to him so her head was laying on his chest and let her soak his shirt with her tears. Silently he prayed she wouldn't suddenly realize this was awkward after his confession because he really liked holding her like this.

"He got really offended about it. He kept yelling at me saying things like; 'We're moving in together, how am I not family to you,' and- and 'I don't trust you alone with _him_.'"

"Him as in me?" Barry asked already knowing the answer.

Iris nodded. "He kept talking like you were this horrible person, trying to sabotage our relationship, but you only told me you loved me after I had asked, even after I asked you tried to hide how you felt. You kept Eddie and my relationship secret from dad. I kept telling him that that wasn't the kind of thing you did when you were trying to sabotage a relationship, but he wouldn't listen to me." Iris was crying now. "I knew we were both making a much bigger deal about this then we should have, but I don't think either of us _could_ stop. It was only our second fight." Barry winced knowing what the first fight had been. "I think it was just timing. Moving in together was too big a step, but all I can think is maybe it's a good thing. Maybe Eddie and I were never meant to work out. He's right. I was ready to move in with him, but I never for a second thought of him as family." Iris looked to Barry.

"I don't know what to tell you, Iris." Barry shook his head. He wished he could help her, but he didn't know how. "I've never been in a relationship before."

They sat curled up together on the couch. The only sound was Iris's soft sobs.

He heard Joe come down the stairs and set some blankets down. Barry could almost feel Joe watching them with a small smile, then not wanting to interrupt them, he turned and walked back upstairs.

"I can't keep being sad about this. It's Christmas, I can't be sad on Christmas. Especially about someone that would break up with someone else on Christmas." Iris claimed. Barry knew she was still sad but continuing talking was not the way to go.

The two friends fell into a comfortable silence as they looked at the tree.

Barry could remember the origin of quite a few of the ornaments. There were some that were pictures of little him and Iris each mod podged onto a snowman, snowflake, Christmas tree, or reindeer head given to them by their elementary school teachers. There were some they had made in arts and crafts in class, even some ornaments like a yellow bulb that said 'Don't eat the yellow snow,' or once with a mustache drawn on it saying 'Stashing through the snow,' or a picture of a kid writing; 'I've been good this week, let's just focus on that' that had been bought as gag gifts but had earned a permanent place on their tree. As the two of them pulled out some of the funnier or more embarrassing ornaments, they would laugh and Iris would come out of the kitchen wondering which ornament it was. Decorating took forever at their house, but it was never boring.

Barry noticed one ornament that had been set aside and left off the tree.

"Oh, Iris, come here!" Barry called out laughing.

"What is it?" She stood and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, just your second grade photo ornament." He said trying to sound casual even though he was laughing too hard to pull it off.

"Do not hang that!" She yelled and chased Barry around the room with it. "Do not ruin my beautiful tree with that hideous photo."

"C'mon, it's cute. You look almost as nerdy as me." He laughed.

Barry got close enough to the tree to hang it where Iris couldn't hope to reach it which certainly didn't stop her from trying. She kept trying small hops to get up to where he had placed the decoration but to no avail.

"Why do you have to be so tall?" She complained.

"Because it makes it easier to tease you." He answered.

Iris gave one more small hop but it wasn't in an attempt to reach higher up the tree. It was into Barry's arms. In his surprise he almost failed to catch her. She laughed and kissed him.

When the kiss ended Iris remained in Barry's arms.

"Sorry." She sighed and Barry gave her a curious look. "I don't want to make you feel like a rebound. That's not how I see you. I've never been out of a relationship before."

"Iris, Eddie was your first real relationship." Barry reminded her.

"But was it? Really? I never felt the need for a romantic relationship until I couldn't talk to you anymore. After you told me you loved me, I thought back all the times we were together. We acted like a couple. Not just any couple, a lot of those times we acted like the cheesiest couple in the cheesiest chick flick ever made, the rest of the time we acted the way I remember my parents. I thought about the happiness I felt in those times compared to how I felt around Eddie and I felt like I had been cheating on you right in front of you for months." Barry laughed at her last comment. "I don't understand why I'm so sad about Eddie when I know all this. It isn't fair to you, but I know I love you."

"It's an ending. Whether or not the ending makes way for something better doesn't always make it feel better. You and Eddie were close," Barry tried not to think about how close. "Of course it would hurt for that to be over, but that's how life goes. That is in no way unfair to me. I love you, Iris. I only want what's best for you." Barry pulled her closer to him again, and Iris felt warm and happy for the first time that night.

They sat down on the couch, happy to be in such proximity.

"Are you two done being sappy? Because as much as I enjoy my kids finally being together, I would like have all three of us sitting around the tree, drinking hot chocolate, and watching Christmas movies till I fall asleep, and I expect there to be the same amount of _wrapped_ presents when you two wake me up tomorrow. You got it?"

His two blushing kids nodded at him and Iris stood up after giving Barry a kiss on the cheek. "I'll make the hot chocolate while you guys put on anything except 'Snow.' Santa looks so much like Dr. Wells it's creepy."

"That's what makes it fun!" Barry called after her.

"You still planning on giving her that gift tomorrow?" Joe whispered.

"Yeah. It's time. I think her break up will actually make it easier." Barry knew that Joe wasn't happy about his plan, but he understood why Barry needed to do it.

"So, 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas?'" Joe suggested, and Barry put the DVD in.

Joe was surprised that he was not the first to fall asleep. He was doubly surprised when it was Iris, the one who was always so excited for Christmas she was the last one asleep and the first awake. Barry looked determined not to even flinch. Iris was laying on him, and he was afraid to move and possibly wake her.

In the morning Joe was once again surprised. No parent should wake up on their own on Christmas morning, but their Joe was watching his two kids still curled up on the sofa, sleeping peacefully. He got traditional Christmas breakfast cooking: crepes.

About half an hour later Iris woke up. She looked up and saw her best friend/pillow sleeping. The events of last night came rushing back to her. She sat up and kissed her new boyfriend. Barry immediately woke up.

"Merry Christmas." She whispered.

"Merry Christmas." He replied with the largest smile she had seen him wear. She noticed an excitement in him that she thought went beyond last night's events, but she left it alone for now. The smell of bacon and buttery crepes wafted into the living room drawing them into the kitchen.

Iris was bouncing up and down with excitement, and Barry wasn't far off.

Before long all the presents had been unwrapped. Except one that hadn't been there a second before.

"Where did this come from?" Iris said picking up a small box. She looked at the tag. It said it was for her but it didn't say who it was from. She peeled the wrapping paper off quickly and figured out who it was from. Iris had told the Flash not to contact her anymore, but there was no doubt in her mind that this gift was from him. She opened the lightning bolt box and grabbed the contents.

The Flash had given her a little lightning bolt keychain with a small button on the tip. With it there was a note saying;

"Iris,

I know I didn't give you much reason to believe me, but I was telling you the truth on that roof top. I couldn't control myself, I had been affected by another metahuman. I want to protect you, but to do that I have to be able to know when you're in danger. If you press the little button on the lightning bolt it will send me a signal telling me where you are and that you need me.

You're probably wondering why I think you would contact me after what I did. Look down."

Iris looked at the bottom of the page and saw Barry's signature. She looked over at Barry and saw him holding up a lightning bolt that matched the one he had given her.

"If you press the button it sends a signal to this receiver and it will tell me your location." Barry explained. "I had Cisco make them."

"You're the Flash." Iris said with a blank expression.

"Yeah." Barry said waiting, expecting her to get mad.

Instead her face softened. She pulled Barry into tight hug and gave him a kiss.

"Thank you." She looked him in the eye and tried to pack as much meaning as she could into the next two words. "_For everything."_

_"_I love you, Iris."

"I love you too, Bear." She gave him a soft peck on the cheek. "Would you mind beating him up again?" She smiled playfully. Barry just laughed at his girlfriend.

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Please watch this. I can just picture teenage Barry alone in his room. I'm dying. watch?v=L3iA-tAWODM**

**Prompt from Lmb111514. Scene continuation in episode 8 when Barry attacked Eddie, but instead of yelling at Iris and turning back to Eddie, he forgot about Eddie and yelled about Iris being invisible to his feelings. Then in the end he reveals his feelings and shows her his face before the Arrow shows up to calm him down and tell Eddie and Iris to run.**

Iris was driving with her boyfriend when it happened. One second he was flipping through radio stations, then they were arguing about the Flash, and the Flash ran up alongside them and ripped Eddie out of the car.

Iris's first thought was how lucky she was. It could have Barry in the car with her. Then her thoughts quickly turned to worry for Eddie as she slammed on the brakes and got out of the car.

Eddie was lying on the ground with the Flash standing over him. Eddie tried to stand up.

"I heard you've been looking for me!" The Flash yelled and Iris couldn't help but feel guilty. She had told him about Eddie trying to get the task force, but Iris also noticed the similarity between the words he spoke now and the word he said when he first spoke to her, expect now the words were packed with hatred and anger. "All this time you've been trying to catch me, and I caught you first. Guess you never read your girlfriend's blog." Eddie pulled out his gun and shot at him.

"Eddie no!" Iris yelled as he pulled the trigger. Her worry for the Flash was unnecessary, he dodged the bullets easily.

He sped to the other side of where Eddie still lay on the ground, trying to get to his feet. He ran toward the Flash, but was quickly thrown to the side.

"Eddie!" Iris yelled in warning.

"Who the H**l are you, huh?" The Flash yelled at his beaten form, once again lying on the road. "You think you can just come along and get to have whatever you want? What gives you the right?"

"What the H**l are you talking about?" Eddie growled, crawling away from his attacker.

"What are you doing? What is happened to you?" Iris questioned in obvious disbelief. How could her hero, her guardian angel, her hope for the world, be doing this?

"I feel fine." He replied not evening sparing her a glance. Something in his twisted mind would allow him to look at her.

"You are not fine!" Iris fought. This was not the man she had come to know and- no she wouldn't even think that word, especially right now.

"How would you know? Because you write about me?" His voice rose with every word. "You don't know me. You don't know who I am! You never did." He continued to follow Eddie's crawling form but slower now. More of his attention was focused on her. She should have been terrified, but something told her that even now, when he was out of his mind he wouldn't physically hurt her. He had already emotionally hurt her, she felt betrayed, but he would never bring her harm.

"I know that you have risked your life to help people, to save them. Someone who does that does not suddenly turn around and want to hurt people. Please!" Iris begged for herself as much as for her boyfriend.

His head turned back toward her slightly. She could just barely his eyes. Eyes that she had grown to know, beautiful green eyes that were her biggest clue to his identity, but now they were not green but a violent shade of red. _Was that what was causing this outrage?_ She thought before he turned his full attention on her. She admitted to herself, his red eyes were terrifying. Still she knew this wasn't a part of him.

"Why would you know anything about what I want?" He demanded.

"Because you have saved me. You risked your life, going up against someone who had already beaten you, to save me. I know that you care about what happens to people in this city." Iris spoke with a calm yet pleading voice, begging him, the _real_ him, to hear her.

"Even without the mask you don't really know me. With it you're just as clueless as the rest of the world."

"Then who are you?"

"Oh, wouldn't you just love to post that on your blog? I bet that'd get a lot of hits." He snarled.

Iris sighed. "This isn't about my blog. I want to help you."

"You always say that, and yet, you've never really done much to help."

Iris had no idea how to respond. She didn't know what he was referring to. Maybe she knew the other version of him?

"I don't understand." She shook her head sadly. "What can I do to bring you back?" Tears were starting to run down her face.

"This is me, Iris! It's just part of me that has been ignored because people don't accept it. People like you. This is not another thing for shrinks to analyze. This is me! Do you understand, yet? You have never known me! You don't know any part of me." The Flash started to pull his mask off. "No matter how much you have claimed to know me, like you have done our whole lives, you _never_ saw me. I was as invisible to you as I was to the whole world. The only way you were different from the rest, was that I saw you."

Iris couldn't stop staring at him. She stared at every part of him but the eyes, she couldn't bear to see the hatred in her loving friend's eyes. She knew more than ever that it wasn't him talking, but his words still cut her deeply. Iris looked back to her boyfriend who had crawled to a nearby building and was once again aiming his gun at the Flash.

Time slowed down and Barry immediately knew why. Eddie was shooting again. _I can't just dodge them and let them continue on their course like last time_, the real Barry thought. _They would hit Iris instead._

_Let him go to jail for her murder. He deserves it._ Thought the part of Barry affected by the metahuman.

Barry grabbed Iris and ran a few feet away. The bullets lodged in Iris car. She knew even more that her Barry was still buried deep within his head, but he could find his way back.

"Tell me what else I need to understand." She asked him, hoping against all hope that talking to her about normal things would bring him back to her.

"I love you, Iris. I always have, but every time I tried to tell you, you brushed me off. Like I was just a piece of lint on your shirt."

_So much for normal._ She thought as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly. Quickly, she hid her reactions, there was no telling what effect they would have on the situation. Finally she brought herself to look into his eyes. Still they had not returned to their beautiful, familiar green that for so many years she had called home.

"Run." She heard a voice growl. Both Barry and Iris turned to look at the newcomer. It was the Arrow. "I told you to run, Iris. Take Eddie with you."

Iris grabbed Eddie and called an ambulance to pick him up. Quietly she snuck back to where the two vigilantes were fighting. Barry was tossing around comments that without even being directly to her, hurt. Eventually she saw Arrow falling from a building, then within moments the Arrow had Barry in a chokehold and a trucks went down into the road. Iris saw a bunch of flashing lights and assumed it was some scientific thingy to help Barry, but what shocked her was who she saw inside the van.

Not only her best friend, but also her father had been keeping secrets from her.

But, at that moment in time, all she really cared about was that Barry's eyes returned to their normal color.

**I hope you guys don't mind, but tomorrow is going to be another Christmas one. I'm posting this one today because it was already written.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Merry belated Christmas. I got this prompt after Christmas, but I didn't want to wait to write it until next year. I got really nice pillows and ticket to boot camp, what did you guys get?**

**Prompt from LycoX. While Barry is out as the Flash, he encounters a group of bad guys dressed as Santas. This just so happens to be seen by a news crew on a helicopter, and they start to live broadcast it. Barry, not realizing that for whatever reason, though maybe it's the large feelings of shock and incredulousness of the situation, starts dealing with them. Iris is one of the many watching the events on screen. She is not even that surprised by the Santas but about realizing it is actually Barry. The fight lands him in another bed stay at STAR Labs thanks to the final Santa being ridiculously huge.**

It was nearly Christmas, and Iris was home alone. Her father was at work trying to get everything finished, so he would have at least a slight chance of not having to work on Christmas. And Barry, well she didn't know where he was. Come to think of it she barely ever knew where her best friend was anymore. He was probably out with his other friends, apparently visiting another city for a day, getting struck by lightning, and waking up from a nine month coma made people more outgoing.

Iris turned the tv on to kill the silence before it killed her. She walked into the kitchen to get lunch. Why was it that whenever she had a day off, everyone was busy? She sat down and ate her BLT on the couch. Her interest in journalism was growing so she settled on the news instead of re-runs of her favorite tv show.

She watched live footage of a bank robbery with interest. The Flash arrived a full three seconds faster than she thought he would and a full three minutes before the police were in sight.

Barry was zooming through the streets. There was a faint trace of snow, and he could hear Caitlyn yelling in his ear to be careful not to trip; "It might be slippery! I don't want to bandage you up just because you're clumsy." Barry smiled and shook his head at how easily she got worried about things; it wasn't _that_ slippery.

"Turn left!" He heard Cisco call out. "Santa is robbing a bank."

"Santa is doing what?" Barry laughed. "Why would you nick name a criminal Santa?"

"He's dressed as Santa. He basically named himself." Cisco defended. "Left again."

"He knows where the bank is, Cisco." Caitlyn reprimanded.

"But does he know which bank I'm referring to?"

"Yes." Barry answered, laughing at his goofy friend as he rounded the corner and stopped at the bank in question.

Barry looked around and saw not one but three men dressed up in Santa suits leaving the bank with big red bags of money.

_That's not the Christmas spirit. _He thought.

He ran towards the men knocking one to the ground before any of them realized they were under attack. He could hear the police sirens screaming on their way to where he was.

The man recovered and the three of them surrounded him and began to close in on the Flash. The Flash let them get closer before running towards one of them again, and sending several swift punches in swift succession into his face and abdomen.

"What kind of person robs a bank dressed like Santa? Poor little children could see you, and you could ruin their little Christmas dreams." The man he was attacking just laughed.

"What kind of coward hides behind a mask?" The largest of the robber Santas retaliated.

The other two Santas closed in and began to attack the Flash. He began to speed up even more as he landed punch after punch into several different targets. Barry could tell that he had broken several ribs, which, unfortunately, was a pain with which he was incredibly familiar. Two of the Santas were lying unconscious on the ground, but the third man was _huge_ and seemed to not be hurt at all.

Barry could feel his brain getting fuzzy, and he knew he was going to pass out from the pain and exhaustion in the not too distant future.

The police arrived as Barry fell to the ground. The third attacker leaned down and ripped off his mask. Barry tried to vibrate his face, but that attempt finally did him in.

"Barry!" He heard Caitlyn call to him as the world went pitch black, and the camera crew zoomed in on him from above.

Iris watched as his mask was removed. She almost turned away to respect his wish to keep his identity a secret, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she continued to watch as the camera zoomed in on . . . on . . . Barry.

"Barry!" She cried out to herself as her best friend passed out on live tv.

She started getting up to the second she saw it. But where were her keys?!

Iris looked up at the tv one more time as she found her keys in the couch. A policeman, her father, she realized, got out of his car, shot the third Santa in the knee, and knelt down by Barry gently shaking him. Iris was still in shock from finding out about Barry being the Flash and was too worried about him being injured to realize or be mad about the fact that her father knew and she didn't.

She watched as her father force fed him some sort of bar out of his suit coat pocket. Barry stirred, but Iris wasn't sure what happened next because she was out of the door on her way to the crime scene.

"C'mon Barry." Joe said as Barry stirred. "C'mon."

"Joe?" Barry asked weakly.

"Do I need to carry you to the car and drive you to the lab or can you run?"

"I'll run." Barry said vibrating and standing up. He took off toward Star Labs where he once again passed out.

Iris arrived at the crime scene, and her father went straight to her.

"Hey, why are you here?"

"What do you mean why am I here? My best friend is severely injured. Where is he?" Iris demanded.

"He went to STAR Labs. I'll meet you there." Joe said sadly. He knew she would find out eventually, but he had truly hoped she wouldn't.

She drove to STAR Labs, breaking numerous traffic laws in the twenty minute drive.

Upon her arrival she ran to the medical room where she found Barry just waking up.

"Iris, what are you doing here?" Caitlyn asked as Iris stormed into the room.

Iris ignored her and sat next to Barry on the medical table. "Barry?"

"Iris! Why are you here?"

"I saw you on tv. You were hurt. Are-are you ok?"

Barry sighed. He wasn't sure whether to be thrilled that she was worried about him or worried that she knew who he was. "I'm ok, Iris." She glared at him. "Really, Iris, I heal fast. Remember when I fought Tony. I broke my hand, but it was completely healed by the time you saw me that night."

Iris smiled and leaned down to hug him. "Don't get me wrong, you're in big trouble for not telling me about this, but I'm really glad you're ok." Iris could not handle losing Barry again. The thought alone would have set off her tears other than the fact she could see Barry, perfectly fine, in front of her. "I need you to be ok."

"I am, Iris." He looked her in the eye and she leaned down to hug him one more time.


	40. Chapter 40

**Keeping things simple, good for you Leia. **** BTW I love the idea of 'Much Ado About Nothing,' so you've been warned. It's a bit OOC, but it was fun to write.**

**Prompt from Leia Amidala Skywalker. Barry straight up tells her that he is the Flash.**

Barry was shaking as he walked into Jitters that day. Iris automatically knew something was wrong. He worked for the police but he was never this nervous about anything, unless it concerned her. Was her dad ok? Was Eddie ok? She knew they had been working late last night. No, her dad was fine. If that had been the problem, he would have went straight to her and given her a hug whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again in her ear, he would not have sat down at a table and waited for her to come to him.

"Barry?" Iris said hesitantly when she got to his table. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, not meeting her eye.

"No, you're not, and I'm not leaving this table until you tell me what's wrong with you, Barry. I know you better than that!"

"I'll tell you at home, ok?" He hadn't lived with Joe and Iris since he left for college, but he still referred to their house as home. It always Iris smile when he did that.

"You're just putting this conversation off." Iris narrowed her eyes at him.

"You'll want to be at home for this conversation. Besides it's not something I can talk about in public."

Iris's curiosity was rapidly rising. She still had two hours left of work, and she knew Barry would get home long after she did. Waiting for this would not be easy, and Barry knew she would call him several times before they got home trying to get at the very least a hint.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. I should have just waited to see you at home." Barry stood up to leave.

"So why did you?" Barry turned back to face her.

"What?"

"If you should have waited until we were home, why did you come here?"

Barry paused. "So I can't talk myself out of telling you before I get home." Barry was surprised at his answer. To be honest, he wasn't really sure why he had gone to Jitters until she asked.

As he left, he smiled the first smile since he and Joe had decided it was time to tell her. Barry had been the one fighting to tell her, but now that he had permission, he was terrified to do it.

Throughout the whole day both of them were distracted. Every time Iris had a break or business slowed even a little she was immediately on the phone with Barry. She was actually surprised that he picked up each time.

Barry just enjoyed her curious nature, that and he loved hearing her voice. While Iris expected him to get annoyed, he just hoped she'd still talk to him after this was all over, but just in case he wanted to hear her as much as he could for as long as he could.

Between phone calls Barry had managed to analyze one shred of evidence. At one point that day, Eddie had walked into his office and said hello and Barry had jumped sky high. Eddie had laughed and asked what was wrong with him. Barry was too quick to respond with "nothing." He knew no one, especially a detective would believe that, but he certainly was not going to explain the situation to Eddie.

"Okay, Allen." Eddie eyed him suspiciously, but Barry just turned back to the evidence he had been staring at for the last half hour-not including phone call breaks.

He stood up and went to grab an evidence bag and a test tube, but when he reached out to grab what he needed he dropped three different, volatile chemicals to the floor. Barry couldn't risk using his speed, so he let them fall then rushed to clean them up before they ate through the floor, but not fast enough to avoid the smell of burnt linoleum permeating through his lab. _Not_ a pleasant smell.

"Allen, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just . . . a little out of sorts. No real reason." _Except a real possibility of losing my best friend when I go home tonight._

Iris's day hadn't been a whole lot better, but at least she didn't burn anything, well, except for a customer's hand. She had just gotten off the phone with Barry, but had gotten absolutely nothing from him. He really was scared about whatever he had to tell her. It was almost as if he had stopped believing that she would always be there for him, no matter what. _What could he have to tell me that could be so bad that he would think I'd abandon him?_ At first she didn't even notice the customer impatiently holding out his coffee mug for a refill. Her coworker had to get her attention, point to him, and hold out a coffee pot for her to take. It was a good thing her friend had given her the pot because she had no idea what he was drinking. She walked over to him and began to fill his mug, and fill it, and fill it, and overflow it onto the man's hand. She only realized what had happened when he cried out in pain and pulled his hand back.

She stopped pouring.

"I'm so sorry." Iris quickly apologized handing him napkins and cleaning up the table.

The man scoffed at her apology. Few of the regular patrons were laughing. They knew Iris, so they knew she must have something serious on her normally focused mind.

Iris had been home for two hours, calling Barry every ten minutes (at the most, it seemed), and pacing by the door waiting for him to get home.

_Finally_, she heard a key slide quietly into the lock. She threw the door open so hard Barry thought it would fly off the hinges.

"Woah!" Was all he had a chance to say before he had been pulled to the couch.

"Sit and speak. This has had me far too worried today." Iris spoke quickly. Barry sat there quietly, not sure how he should start. "You are not getting out of this, Bear."

"I'mtheFlashI'msorryIdidn'ttellyousoonerIjustdidn'twantyoutobeputindangerIknowthat'snotgoodenoughbutit'sthetruthI'msorry." He said quickly and quietly.

"I can handle a little bit slower." Iris stared at her best friend waiting for him to respond.

"I'm the Flash." He repeated.

"Barry, I've waited all day for you to tell me whatever it is you want to tell me. Please just tell me what's really going on."

Barry laughed a little then began to vibrate his voice. "Iris."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my-"

"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you as soon as I knew what was happening, but I had seen what can happen to vigilantes and the people that work with them or know about them, and I wanted to protect you from that. I wanted to protect you from me." Barry hung his head, expecting her to leave, tell him to leave, or yell at him for keeping huge secrets from her.

"Barry." She said softly. "Look at me." He complied.

"I'm sorry."

"For what, a misguided but caring instinct? I'm not going to tell you that you were right to keep this from me, but I can understand you're reasoning."

"You're not mad at me?" Barry asked his best friend hesitantly. He was still afraid that he might lose her.

"Just, just please, no more secrets. Okay?"

"Okay."


	41. Chapter 41

**This is my first ever song fic, so this'll be interesting.**

**Prompt from Fantasy Lover 4ever. Song: 'Take it Out On Me.' By Florida Georgia Line. (I don't own this either.)**

**So apparently I'm not allowed to have song lyrics written in this, which I think is the dumbest rule ever, because it's basically free advertising for artists, but my account has been threatened so I'm changing it because the creators of this website and many artists who probably don't read this are freaks. These lyrics will be posted in my profile until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

Iris made her way to Barry's house. She needed her best friend. She didn't care that this conversation might be awkward considering his confession a few months earlier, she needed him, and he had been there for her through things like this before and it never seemed awkward then. Well, at least it hadn't seemed awkward to Iris though she had been rather oblivious to his feelings. Either way, she knew Barry would help her, that was just who he was. He wanted everyone else to be happy even it meant he was miserable. Iris needed to stop thinking, all she was accomplishing was making herself feel guilty, and that was not a feeling she needed right now.

_What's he done this time?_

Eddie had done many of the things that drove her crazy. She had lived solely with men for nearly all of her life, but she could not stand boys leaving the toilet seat up, leaving used dishes sitting on the counter, on the table, or in the bedroom and living room for the food to harden in them and make them difficult to clean, leaving dirty laundry everywhere, or expecting her to have dinner ready right when he got home. Eddie had done all these things just today, and when Iris had asked him to help her clean up _their_ apartment, he had snapped at her.

"I work all day, Iris!" He had shouted at her. "Do something for yourself every now and again."

That shouting match had gone on for a while. Ever argument they had had since she moved in with them came to the surface, and to be perfectly honest there had been a lot. They had never argued before they were living together, but once she moved in it was like a ticking time bomb with a short fuse.

But she was used to all of that, it was his last statement, spoken under his breath as she walked into the kitchen, that pushed her out of their apartment and to Barry's door.  
><em><br>Did he break your heart?  
>to<br>__he really must've pissed you off_

Iris knocked loudly on the door, but there was no response from inside. She knocked again a little louder and heard slow footsteps coming to the door. The door opened slightly mostly covering her friend's body.

"Iris?" Barry looked at her tear streaked face and opened the door the rest of the way to let her in.

Iris then realized why he had taken so long to get to the door and why he had only opened it part way. He was in his pajamas which consisted of boxers and only boxers. _When did Barry get abs?_ Iris found herself staring for a few seconds.

"C'mon in." Iris stepped inside and immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and cried on his bare skin. He closed the door with one arm and wrapped both of his strong, warm arms around her shoulders shaking with sobs. Eventually her sobs quieted. "I'll be back in just a second. I'm going to put some clothes on. Ok?"

"Just stay with me. I've seen you like this before."

Barry looked slightly uncomfortable with that, but he walked Iris over to the couch. They sat down with Iris lying on top of Barry. She shivered slightly, and trying hard not to disturb her position, Barry reached for the blanket sitting on the chair next to the couch and gently laid it on top of them.

"So what's wrong?" Barry said after they had sat silently for a few minutes with him running his fingers through her beautiful, soft hair.

Iris took a shaky breathe before telling him all about the fight.

"That happens a lot doesn't it?" Barry asked looking at her expressionless face. She nodded. "Then what makes this time different?"

"He said something as I went into the kitchen."

"What did he say?" Barry gently prodded.

Iris sniffled. "He muttered it more than said it." Barry waited. "He told me 'good that's where girls like you belong.'" She erupted into sobs again.

Barry knew words would not help her, so he just held her close.

Take it out on me,  
>And put your lips on mine.<p>

He pressed his lips gently against her forehead. She turned her head and smiled up at me.

Let me take his wrong and make it right this time.  
>Yeah, you can just come over, you ain't gotta call.<br>You always got a shoulder anytime it all goes bad, when you're 'bout to break, when you're mad as H**L  
>You can always take it out on me<p>

"I wish I knew what to tell you but I don't."

"It's enough to know you're here." Iris whispered.

"Then just know I'm always here. I don't care when you need me."

"Speaking of, what time is it?" Iris asked sleepily, rapidly blinking.

Barry looked at his watch and sighed. "A little after 3 in the morning."

You can take it out on me baby.  
>If you ever wanna leave, maybe,<p>

"What am I going to do Barry?" Iris mumbled into his chest.

"Whatever will make you happiest." He made her meet his eye. "But I don't think this is making you happy. For now you're going to sleep."

Barry scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom. She was asleep before they even got here. He laid her down and went outside to the couch.

In the middle of the night, that's alright . . .  
>Girl, let me help to get back at him.<p>

When she woke up the next morning she found Barry in the kitchen with two plates of pancakes.

"What am I going to do? I can't go back to him. Not after last night."

"So you don't go back." Barry said simply.

"I kind of want to punish him."

"I could beat him up again." Barry suggested with a joking smile. Too late he realized his mistake.

"Again?" Iris looked at him suspiciously.

"Yeah, um, about that."

"Spit it out Bear. When did you beat him up and why?"

"You were there, Iris. When the rage controlling metahuman affected me, and I attacked Eddie."

"What are you saying?"

"Iris, I'm the Flash."

Iris sat down at the table and was silent for several minutes.  
><em><br>And I don't know why you never say goodbye . . .  
>to<br>And put your lips on mine._

Barry sat down across from her. "Are you mad at me?"

"A little." She leaned closer to him. "But, I'm mostly grateful for you being there for me even after how I treated you." Iris closed the remaining space between them. The kiss was gentle and meaningful. "But . . . I was joking about . . . beating him up. As funny as it would be it probably isn't a good idea."  
><em><br>Let me take his wrong and make it right this time.  
>to<br>You can take, take, take it out on me._

Eventually they both had to get to work. Barry, as usual was already late, and he had to run Iris to her dad's house to grab some clothes she had left there. She refused to go to Eddie's apartment.

Barry arrived at the station to see Eddie approach Joe looking a little scared.

"Did Iris go to your place last night?" Eddie asked.

Joe looked at him with a mixture of anger and worry. "No, why?"

Eddie definitely looked scared. Joe _was_ armed. "We had a fight last night, she stormed out, and she didn't come back."

"Are you telling me my baby girl is _missing?"_ Barry was glad he was not on the receiving end of that.

Barry walked over to the two partners. "Iris is fine. She came to my apartment last night. I dropped her off at work before coming here."

Eddie bowed his head slightly. "How is she?"

"She's mad. Understandably." Barry narrowed his eyes at his best friend's ex-boyfriend.

"It just slipped out! I didn't mean it."

"It shouldn't have even been a thought Eddie." Barry scolded while Joe listened to the conversation with angry curiosity.

"How angry is she?" Eddie said with a wince.

"She asked me to stop by your apartment later today to pick up her things." Barry said without condolence.


	42. Chapter 42

**I feel like all of these recent chapters involve a break-up. Hope you don't mind, guys.**

**Prompt from Fantasy Lover 4ever. Song 'Why Don't You Love Me' by Hot Chelle Rae. (I don't own it.)**

**So apparently I'm not allowed to have song lyrics written in this, which I think is the dumbest rule ever, because it's basically free advertising for artists, but my account has been threatened so I'm changing it because the creators of this website and many artists who probably don't read this are freaks. These lyrics will be posted in my profile until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

_See I can't wake up I'm living a nightmare  
>to<br>And you're cool with just being friends_

Barry lie in bed one morning thinking. Thinking about Iris, thinking about his secrets.

She never could see the way he looked at her. He knew Iris to be a smart observant person, so why did she have to be so oblivious to this one thing? Barry loved her, why was she the only person who didn't seem to know it? Now he had to watch her be with Eddie every day. Barry had to constantly sit through them flirting and kissing and just being a couple. It was killing him, but she just wanted to be friends.  
><em><br>Left on the sidelines  
>to<br>Why don't you love me?_

Barry was no longer the most important guy in her life, not including Joe because that wasn't the same. She, for the most part, left him out of the details, which he was grateful for, but he was sad to be left out of such an important part of his best friend's life.

He wished he could hold her in his arms, tell her he loved her more than anything in the world, and have the words reflected back to him. Maybe someday, he allowed himself that small hope. For now, could he confess a different secret?  
><em><br>__**See I'm just too scared to tell you the truth  
>to<br>Why don't you love me?**_

_****_Eddie had put the request in to be transferred or get a new partner, but it was taking a long time. They hadn't told anyone because they didn't want to risk the danger it could put Eddie and Joe in if they couldn't get along as partners, but Eddie had broken up with Iris two weeks ago. He had told her he didn't think her heart was in the relationship anymore, if it ever was, and that wasn't what he wanted. He had hoped she would fight his theory, but it was only proven when she nodded with dry eyes. Her eyes remained dry, and even she was surprised. Iris had thought she loved Eddie, so why were no tears forming at the idea, no the reality, of losing him? The answer was obvious, but she was too afraid to give it merit. It wasn't worth the risk it presented. Barry. She couldn't tell him that he was the one she really loved, she would lose her best friend, no matter how much she wanted to tell him.

Besides he had been distant since he woke up.  
><em><strong><br>**__Touch me tell me I'm your everything  
><em> to  
><strong>Why<strong>_** don't you love me?**_

Iris was excited. Eddie's transfer had gone through, (after a total of ninety four days and about three hours), he was Starling's newest officer. She no longer had to be pretending to date her ex-boyfriend, but that also got rid of her most realistic reason for not telling Barry about her feelings. Iris knew her Bear would at the worst be a little awkward.

She heard a key slide into the lock and prayed a contradictory prayer; please let it be Barry, but please don't let it be Barry. That seemed to sum up her thoughts lately. Iris was debating herself almost constantly and losing. This would be so much easier if he loved me. Why can't he love me back?

Barry entered the house he had called home for much of his life and saw the woman he loved all of his life sitting anxiously in the living room.

"I heard about Eddie's transfer. Are you ok?" Barry said sitting down millimeters from Iris. Both of their hearts raced, even by Barry's standards.

"Yeah. We broke up a few months ago." Iris said without expression.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Barry wrapped Iris in his arms, he would never admit it to anyone, but he was happy about the split.

"It wasn't a big deal, but we knew dad would be mad and . . ." Iris trailed off.

"And you wanted to protect them." Iris nodded. _When did Barry get so smart?_ She laughed to herself.

Iris took courage from the fact he left his arm around her when he released her from the all too short hug.

"Iris, I have to tell you something." Barry said weakly, no longer meeting her eye. He had gone into the familiar 'I feel guilty' face that usually accompanied something like chipping a dish that he shouldn't feel guilty for.

"Me too, but you first."

Barry took a deep shaky breath. "I-I-I'm the Flash, Iris. I know I should have told you sooner but- but I was afraid. I was afraid of the danger you would be in if you knew, and I was afraid that you would look at me like I was crazy."

Iris knew she should have felt hurt that her friend was afraid of her not being accepting of this big secret, and she was, but the emotion she felt most keenly was joy, mixed with a bit of relief because the man she met with in secret rooftop meetings who had been hopelessly flirting with her, was the man she loved more than anything.

"You like me." Barry noticed that it was a statement rather than a question, but he was confused by her meaning.

"Of course I like you. We've been friends as long as I can remember. Longer even." Barry was worried that the way he had phrased the last part of his confession had made her question what their friendship meant to him.

"That's not what I mean, Barry. It was you on that roof, flirting like crazy. I know you like me more than a friend."

Barry was worried. He had only planned on confessing one secret tonight, but plans change. Maybe today would be a good day?

"More than like." Barry tilted his head just enough to see her eyes light up with, dare he hope, happiness. "I love you Iris. I've _always _loved you, and I'll never stop. I understand if you don't-"

"Stop talking Barry. I love you too." Barry stared at her for a second while her words sunk in. Then he leaned in closer to her and kissed her like he had been wanting to for _years._


	43. Chapter 43

**This is totally not lame Grass Girl. It was a lot of fun to write. Though it's slightly graffic.**

**Prompt from Grass Girl Barry as Barry gets injured and Iris insists on taking him to the hospital. She demands that Eddie call an ambulance. Barry tries to convince her that he's fine, and by the time the paramedics get there Barry is completely healed. Then he has to tell Eddie and Iris that he's the Flash.**

Barry had just had to sit through a long dinner of being the awkward third wheel with Iris and Eddie. Iris had insisted that the three of them needed to spend more time together, and Barry, as usual, had not been able to say no to her. So there they were, walking home.

"This has been really nice. Thanks guys." Iris said smiling at each of them in turn.

That alone made the whole night worth it for him. She was happy.

"Yeah, Bear, we should do this again." Eddie agreed.

"Yeah, we should." Barry tried not to visibly wince at Eddie using Iris's nick name for him.

Iris's smile widened, and he knew the next time would, at the farthest, be next week. He could see the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out a time where neither of them would be able to ditch. Barry was just relieved that she wasn't planning a guys' night for them.

"You're both off on Monday." Iris said walking backwards to face them.

"I'm going to Starling on Monday." Barry answered. He was trying to think about that too much.

"Going to see Felicity?" Iris said suggestively.

"She'll be there. If she can get out of the house." He said the last part under his breath.

"What?" Iris asked concerned.

"Nothing." Barry looked up and started walking again.

"That's not nothing. What happened in Starling?" Iris pressed.

"Iris, I'm not even allowed to say anything. I shouldn't have said as much as I have. Please, let this go." Barry looked her in the eye, begging her to let it be.

"Ok." Iris nodded. She couldn't hold back the worry in her voice. Barry usually told her everything, this must be bad.

They walked in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Iris get down!" Barry shouted. She turned to him in confusion, but didn't get down so Barry stepped in front of her.

A shot rang out, and Barry gasped moving his hand to his stomach. His two friends stood behind him in shock. The gunman moved closer to them. When he was in arm's reach he removed one hand from his abdomen, reached up, twisted the gun out of the man's hands, and hit him over the head with it before the man could react.

"Eddie, take this." Barry held out the gun for him to grab.

He shakily grabbed it. "When did you learn to do that?"

"A friend taught me." Barry said with a twinge of sadness.

"Oh, you're hurt!" Iris yelled finally coming to her senses.

"Its fine, Iris. I' okay."

"No you're not. You've been shot in the stomach, Barry! I'm not going to lose you again because you're too stubborn to go to a hospital." Iris yelled. "Eddie, call an ambulance."

"Don't bother, Eddie. Iris, you're not going to lose me. It's not nearly as bad as you think."

Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket and called 911. He'd have to make up a story when they got there. Barry could already feel the wound closing around the bullet.

"There is a bullet inside you Barry. It is exactly as bad as I think."

"Turn around Iris."

"What?!"

"Just do it, please." Iris turned around. Barry reached into the wound, trying not to scream as he pulled his shirt off painfully, and he let out a gasp of agony as he ripped the wound back open and pulled the bullet out. "Uuughh. How did he ever do that?"

**Following paragraph is kind of gross. If you don't like blood, skip it.**

"How did who do what?" Iris asked turning back around. She began gagging as more blood poured out of her best friend. He was holding a squished bullet in his hand.

It was obvious that Barry was keeping more secrets from her than what was about to happen in Starling City.

"Barry! Wait for the ambulance. You are not a medical professional. You cannot take a bullet out of yourself. Keep pressure on that." Eddie lectured.

"I'm _fine_." Barry repeated. "I don't need an ambulance, and the hospital won't know what to do with me."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked with tears streaming down her face.

Barry wiped the blood of his abdomen off with his already bloodied t-shirt.

"Look."

His two friends looked at the spot on his stomach where the bullet entered. There was nothing but a little dried blood. Not even a scar.

Barry turned toward the sound of an ambulance. The three of them exchanged a worried glance. The others seemed to understand that it was dangerous for anyone else to know what happened.

"What are we going to tell them?" Eddie asked.

"How much of the situation did you explain to them?" Barry asked looking at the man who shot him. He was still on the ground from when Barry had hit him.

"Just that someone was injured." Eddie answered picking up what Barry was planning.

"Barry you might not want to be here. They'll question why you're covered in blood." Iris pointed out.

"Right. I'll be just around the corner." Barry looked Iris in the eye. "I'll explain everything after. Alright?"

Iris only nodded in response. "You had better, Bear."

"Explain." Iris said the second she turned the corner to where Barry was hiding from the ambulance.

Barry looked around. "Not here."

"Wha-" Iris, Eddie, and Barry appeared in the living room of Joe's house.

"Y- you- you're the . . . the Flash." Iris stuttered.

Barry nodded. "I'm, sorry I didn't tell you. I know it wasn't right not to tell you about it, but I wanted to keep you safe."

"You're friends with the Arrow. That explains where you to pull a bullet out of yourself and disarm someone." Eddie looked at him in shock.

"Joe was the one who taught me to disarm people, but yeah."

Barry could see the anger flare in her face then soften. "So are you going to explain what's happening in Starling on Monday?"

His head fell, and tears filled his eyes. "A funeral."

"Whose?" Iris asked scooting closer to her best friend.

"Arrow."

"Why would Felicity not leave the house because of that?" Iris asked.

"Arsenal and Dig have had to practically force feed her. He was her best friend, and the love of her life. She's still in shock from it all." Barry said sadly. "You guys aren't supposed to know that, so don't say anything."

"Of course not." Iris said pulling him into a hug. "You've been jogging? Seriously Bear?"

Barry had a small smile on his face, but it faded quickly.

"Why don't you take me for another run? Might get your mind off things." Iris said excitedly.

"You just want another ride, don't you?" Barry laughed.

"That too." Iris lit up at her friend's returning smile.

She reveled in the feeling of moving faster than sound in her best friend's arms.

**Happy New Year's Eve!**


	44. Chapter 44

**I got two prompts that were pretty much the same.**

**Prompt from Reveal Girl 666. After Barry tells her he loves her in 1x09, he tells her he is the Flash.**

**Prompt from Dobby's Socks. When Barry confesses his feelings to Iris he said he couldn't lie to her anymore, so he gets up to go, but then he sort of hates himself for lying to her about that since he hasn't told her his other secret. Figuring she probably hates him/won't be able to be around him anymore again without it being awkward anyway he tells her that he's also the Flash. Iris is overwhelmed.**

_It's time._ Barry couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. Iris had come to him and asked him about his feelings. He had lied to her. He had looked at her and lied straight to her face. Barry hadn't just avoided telling her, or kept it secret, now he looked her in the eye and _lied_. The guilt was killing him. Barry couldn't live with that. It was time for Iris to know how he felt, even if she didn't feel the same way, even if she hated him.

All that was left was to hope his confession didn't completely ruin their friendship.

He walked as slowly as he could to the West house to delay what he was about to do as much as he could. When he finally reached and unlocked the door, he timidly walked inside.

"Hey." Iris greeted him as she worked on the tree. "Just in time I am almost done." She sighed. "Are there awards for tree trimming? Because this is award worthy." The tree really was beautiful, and Barry would much rather discuss tree trimming competitions than what he came here to say.

Barry sighed and Iris tilted her head with a concerned look.

"Are you ok, Bear?"

Barry opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out.

He pulled Iris into a hug, scared that it might be the last one if this conversation didn't go well. She wrapped her arms around him in return.

"I love you, Iris." Barry breathed into her hair.

Iris wanted to take it a different way than how she thought he meant it.

"Aww I love you too." She replied. Iris was becoming increasingly worried.

Barry nodded once again trying to speak with no words coming out.

"When we were kids I loved you before I even knew what the word love meant." Iris looked at her best friend in shock. _Did he really return her feelings?_ "And then my mom died and I had to go live with the girl I had a crush on." Iris backed away to sit on the couch and Barry followed. "Hey look," Barry put his hands to his face trying to think of the right words to say. "There were so many times I wanted to tell you; junior prom, when I went away to college, when I came back from college, nights that we stayed up talking, all the birthdays, all the Christmases, but I- I never did I just . . . I kept it in." Barry looked up at her periodically, but never held her gaze for long. She looked so sad, and it hurt. "After I lost my mom-and my dad-I was afraid that if you didn't feel the same way, I would lose you too." Iris was hurt, he would never lose her. "That's the irony, I was so scared of losing you that I did." Iris wondered if he could hear her heart breaking at his words. She was right there, listening to him, trying to think of what to do. "I know I've had our whole lives to tell you this, and you're with Eddie now I know that, and I know my timing couldn't be any worse, but I just-" Barry paused. "I couldn't lie to you anymore. I'm sorry." His voice shrunk as he finished speaking. Iris shook her head. She couldn't process all of this. Even though she knew he would take her silence the wrong way, she couldn't bring herself to speak. He sighed sharply and wiped his eyes trying to hold back tears. Barry stood up beginning to leave. "Ok."

Iris continued to cry. All Barry could think was that he should have just left well enough alone. The guilty feeling of lying to her still hadn't left, but he knew why. He had lied to her again in his confession. 'I couldn't lie to you anymore' he said. _Might as well finish the job, she's going to hate me anyway._

"One more thing." Barry said as he stood by the open door. Cold air was blowing in his face.

Iris turned toward him. _What could he possibly have left to say?_

"I'm the Flash." He proved it by running out of the door and through the street before she could really react to either confession. This was all too much for Iris. She just sat on the couch sobbing and trying to think about how to handle everything she had just learned.

She knew she loved Barry, and she was thrilled to learn that he loved her too, but the timing really was horrible. It was the holidays, so she couldn't break up with Eddie right now even if that was what she chose to do. She had feelings for Eddie, but Iris was not going to try to fool herself into thinking they were as strong as her feelings for Barry anymore, not now that she knew her love was not unrequited.

Then there was the other confession. Barry was the Flash? Iris was now sure that he had not been lying on the rooftop when he said he had only attacked Eddie because he was affected by another metahuman. But, what else did it mean? He was a hero, but he had _always _been her hero, the boy that took care of her no matter what. He had been there for her through her mother's death and her teenage self-esteem issues. Now he was a hero to a lot of people, and his being the Flash definitely explained his weird behavior since he woke up from his coma.

She needed to talk to him. But what could she say?

"Barry?" She called as she walked into his apartment. He had given her a key the day he started renting the apartment.

"In here." Iris walked into the kitchen where he was cooking dinner.

"Can you . . . take a break for a minute?" She took a few small steps closer to where he was. He still hadn't met her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." Barry was nervous, there were too many ways this conversation could go bad.

"It's nearly Christmas." Barry nodded. "So, you understand why I can't break up with Eddie yet?"

"What?" Barry was honestly confused why would she break up with Eddie?

"For a genius, Barry, you can be pretty dense." Iris laughed nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"I love you too, Bear." Barry looked up to meet her eyes for the first time since she came in. "I always thought you would only ever love me as a friend or a sister, so I always tried to push that feeling away, but now . . ." Iris was glad to see his smile. She had wondered if she would see it again. It was even better knowing her love caused it.

"So what are we going to do?"

"After the holidays, when I won't feel guilty breaking up with Eddie, we're going to do a lot of this." Iris kissed her confused friend who soon melted into the kiss.

**Happy New Year!**


	45. Chapter 45

**I know it's been a while since the original, but here it goes.**

**Prompt from Annie Hawkclaw. Follow up to chapter 24. Iris gets the same powers as Barry.**

"Iris, are you ready to get up?" Barry asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, but should I be able to stand?" Iris asked.

"If you weren't a metahuman, no, but you are, so c'mon." Barry offered his girlfriend help getting off of the medical bed.

"Can I try your treadmill?" She wiggled her eyebrows trying to make him laugh.

"I kind of broke it, but as soon as Cisco fixes it, I would love to watch you run on that thing." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "It's even more fun than it looks."

"I'm looking forward to it, but for now I'll settle for racing my boyfriend through the streets." She looked at him with a big smile and playful eyes.

"I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. What makes you think you have a chance?"

"My boyfriend is too much of a sweet gentleman to let me lose." She was so matter-of-fact about it that Barry couldn't help but laugh. She was right, there was no way he was going to let her lose. It was her first time running at these speeds, and Barry wanted to see her reaction.

"But I'm also your best friend who you grew up with, and we've gotten pretty competitive." He teased.

Iris leaned in close to his face. "Even then, I won every time. Admit it." Barry nodded.

"Fine, let's go." He rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. _Man, it feels good to call her that._ Barry wasn't sure he'd ever get used to being the luckiest guy in the world, but it was a good feeling. "I love you, Iris."

"I love you too, Bear. Now stop delaying, and let's go."

"Sorry, one more delay." Barry said.

"Ugh." She mocked annoyance. "What now?"

"You don't want to set yourself on fire do you?" Barry turned reached up and turned her head to face him. "Because if you don't want to burn up, you're going to need a fireproof suit."

Iris's face practically glowed and her hands were vibrating a little from excitement. "I get a Flash suit!"

Barry nodded, his smile growing as much as hers.

"For now you'll have to use one of Barry's spares, but once you guys get back I'll get your measurements so I can make one that fits you." Cisco said as he presented her with a Flash suit that had temporary hems in the legs so she wouldn't trip over the long legs of his suit.

As soon as she had changed into the suit, Barry scooped her up into his arms, only setting her down when they got outside.

"What was that for?"

"A couple of reasons." Barry said with a shrug.

"Like . . ." Iris waited.

"I love carrying you. I wanted your first run to be out in the open. Do you want more? Cause I've got one more."

"Mhmmm, and what's that." Iris drew closer to her boyfriend.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "You're a dork."

"And you love me for it."

"Yes I do." They stared at each other for a minute.

"What are you waiting for? Let's run." Barry said and took off running.

"Not fair!" Iris yelled speeding towards him.

Barry ran at a pace that he knew she could catch. When she caught up with him, he began to gradually speed up encouraging her to push herself to match. Barry noticed that she was starting to look weak. He slowed down and eventually she caught on and stopped.

"Barry, I don't feel so good." Iris walked towards him dizzily. "I feel like I'm going to-"

"Hey, hey it's okay. Come here." Barry unwrapped one of his Cisco-fied calorie bars and handed it to her. When she nearly dropped it, he took it back and started breaking pieces off of it and feeding them to her until she had enough energy to finish by herself.

"So this is how you eat so much without getting fat." She laughed.

"Yep."

"Does this mean that I have to eat as much as you?"

"Unless you happen to like passing out." Barry smiled as she rolled her eyes at him or the millionth time that day. "C'mon, we should go back."

She put her arms around his neck and jumped. He caught her.

"Oh, I have permission to carry you now."

"Just to the doors of STAR Labs. I want to run through the building and see how different it is, and I love being in your arms." Barry grinned his signature goofy grin that Iris loved so much.

Barry carried her to the lab and set her down.

"Let's wait here for just a minute." Barry said shakily.

"Are you okay, Bear?"

"Yeah. I know we haven't been dating for very long, but we've known each other forever. We lived together for about seven years. I think it's safe to say we're ready for this." Barry was still shaking, but it wasn't quite a super speed vibration, but it was close. He was truly nervous about whatever he was doing.

"What are you talking about?" Iris was getting really excited. _Was this really happening, or was she just reading too much into things._

Barry dropped to one knee and pulled out a box. "Iris Ann West, will you marry me? I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I want to-"

"Barry!" Iris dropped to the ground and kissed her boyfriend, now fiancé.

"I'll take that as a yes then?"

"Yes, a thousand times yes."

Barry opened the box and slid the ring onto her finger.

"I love you, Bear." A single tear of joy fell down her face.

"I love you too, Iris."

They sat in the parking lot of STAR Labs for at least fifteen minutes laughing, talking, and kissing.

"We should go inside. They'll wondering what's taking two speedsters so long." Barry said not looking away from Iris's gorgeous, happy eyes.

"Right." Iris laughed. "I'm looking forward to my Dad's reaction to this."

"Me too."

They raced through the halls of the lab and made their way back to the main room.

"Took you guys long enough. How far did you go?" Caitlyn asked.

"Not quite as far as you'd think. We did some _other _things along the way." Iris said wrapping her arms around her father's neck from back so he could just barely see her hands.

Joe stood up and grabbed her left hand. He smiled and pulled her into his arms then beckoned Barry over, so he could join the hug. "It's about time you two." His voice was muffled by their shoulders, but they understood him perfectly.


	46. Chapter 46

**Prompt from Grass Girl. It's raining outside with thunder and lightning, and Iris won't let Barry go outside because she doesn't want him to get hurt, but he needs to go outside because there's something he has to do (deal with a metahuman, stop a bank robbery, or something like that) as the Flash and maybe she follows him because she wants to make sure he doesn't get hurt. Then she sees him using his super speed.**

Tonight reminded Barry of a time when things were normal. Before he had been struck by lightning. Back when he wasn't the Flash. Back before Iris was in a serious relationship that wasn't with him. Before he knew just how good it felt to be able to flirt with her without her knowing it was him. Way back when things were simple.

He was sitting down on the couch curled up comfortably with his best friend. They were watching a scary movie, and Iris was getting fairly jumpy as always, so when Barry's phone rang, she jumped sky high. Barry laughed, and she hit him on the shoulder.

"I wonder what you would have done if that was the doorbell." He teased.

"Just answer your phone."

Barry stood up and walked into the kitchen and answered his phone.

"Hey Caitlyn, what's going on?"

"Violent metahuman on 67th. Go!"

"I need more information than that. What can he do?"

Barry heard Iris gasp from the other room, and he had to restrain his laughter.

"We don't know."

"Then how do you know it's a metahuman?"

"We just do. Now go!"

Barry hung up and walked back into the living room. Iris looked up at him.

"Is everything ok?" She paused the tv.

"Yeah but I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll try to come back after I'm done." He really was disappointed to leave Iris alone. Barry loved how she cuddled into his shoulder when things got to scary. Iris was disappointed too; she liked cuddling into him when it was realistic to say she was scared. Then another more pressing thought occurred to her.

_The_ _storm_.

Rain was pouring and the lightning storm was right over them. The last time . . . she didn't want to think about the last time.

She got up and ran to beat him to the door.

"Iris, come on, I have to go. It's important." Barry pleaded not realizing her reasoning.

"It's not safe, Bear."

"What are you-" Barry stopped. "Oh. Iris, look at me. I'm okay."

"Please don't go." Barry saw tears start to fall down her face.

He pulled Iris into a hug. "I'm right here."

"Don't go outside. Please, Barry, I can't lose you." Barry's shoulder was very wet at this point.

"You're not going to lose me. I'm going to be just fine." He rubbed circles on her back.

"Can you promise me that?" Iris lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Can you really promise me that you will come back to me unhurt?"

"Yes." Barry wasn't naïve enough the really believe that promise. Dealing with metahumans is dangerous, but the likelihood was that he would be mostly uninjured, and he healed quickly, so she would never have to know if he'd been hurt.

Iris sniffed a few times. She didn't believe him, but she knew she couldn't stop him. There was obviously something more important to him than his safety.

"Ok." She nodded and let go of him.

Barry kissed the top of her head. He wished he could kiss her lips. "I'll be back." With that he was out the door.

Iris waited thirty seconds and left behind him. She followed him around the corner, but after that she couldn't see him. All that was there was a blur. A red blur that she had flirted with and blogged about. A red blur that gave her and many others hope. She ran as fast she a normal human could following little flickers of light until she found him and two other people in an alley.

There was a man lying face down on the ground barely moving. The other person was a woman facing Barry/Flash with a wicked grin on her face.

"What are you?" Barry asked her.

"I'm like you. A powerful one, but I'm the most powerful one of all. I can copy the strongest part of everyone. Everyone, not just people like us."

"Cool." Cisco said on coms. "The Copy Cat. No, just forget I said that. I'll come up with a better name."

Barry mentally rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Let the man go." Iris was surprised by how strong and commanding Barry sounded.

"Why would I do that? I'm still feeding off his strength. It'll be helpful. I have your speed, so that would put us on an equal playing field, but I've never been one to fight fair." The woman rushed toward Barry, and he ran towards her as well.

Iris watched as they both landed punch after punch. Her concern for her Bear was growing with each hit he took.

She couldn't just sit back and watch anymore. Iris ran towards them.

"Ooooh, you brought a friend. Should we see what her strength is?" The woman turned to Iris.

Barry ran between them. "Leave her alone."

The woman scoffed at him. "She's still close enough for me to feed on. Keeping her out of my sight will do you no good." The woman tilted her head. "That's rather unexpected."

The woman started to move closer to where the Flash stood protecting Iris. Barry ran to fight her again.

That was when everything got weird. Instead of fighting back, the psycho metahuman kissed Barry. He pulled away in shock, but she pulled him closer again.

Barry used her distraction to tie her up then push her away.

"I don't understand. What just happened?" Iris asked coming up behind him and grabbing his hand.

"I don't know." Barry answered.

"I connected to her strength." Barry's eyebrows scrunched up, and Iris buried her head in his arm to be as close to him as she could be. She was worried that this was the last time she could do so without it being super awkward. "Her strongest emotion is her love for you." Iris bushed harder than before. Her head was still tucked into his arm, so she didn't see him smile down at her, and she was surprised that he didn't pull his arm away.

"Iris, I'm going to take her to the lab to lock her up. Wait here for a minute and I'll take you home." Iris pulled her head away from him. He smiled hesitantly then leant down and kissed her gently. He scooped the other metahuman into his arms then sped off in the direction of STAR Labs. Iris didn't have to wait long for him to reappear and scoop her up, but that also didn't give her much time to think. Barry was the Flash. Barry had kissed her. Barry knew she loved him as more than a friend. Barry had kissed her. Barry also thought she had a boyfriend. Barry had kissed her.

The two of them sat on the couch in her living room. Neither of them had spoken in several minutes.

"I love you, Bear." Iris began. "I have for so long. I know I should have told you, and I tried to so many times. It was just easier to be with Eddie and try to feel the same way for him, but it was never real. We broke up a couple days ago. I love you, Bear."

Barry just smiled and puller her into his arms.

"I love you too. I always have I was just too afraid you wouldn't feel the same way, and I would lose you. And I should have told you about being the Flash, but it was dangerous for you to know, and I couldn't put you in that kind of danger."

They fell into a comfortable silence with nothing between them anymore. Joe found his kids asleep on the couch a few hours later. A scary movie was still paused, but the thing that made him smile was seeing Iris rolled up into a ball under Barry's protective arm.


	47. Chapter 47

**I've been swamped with homework, so this is kind of rushed, sorry.**

**Prompt from Mayflowers 123. Iris is on her way to the police station when a metahuman kidnaps her and in Barry's haste to save her he doesn't put on his suit.**

Iris really needed to talk to Barry. This was one of those times where she really wished she had more female friends, but Barry had come through for her on so many other occasions, so she knew he could help her. She had just broken up with Eddie. Well, Eddie had broken up with _her._

She had known this breakup was coming since the day Barry told her he loved her. Eddie was right, Barry loved her and she loved Barry more than she could ever love Eddie.

So there she was, walking toward the Central City Police Station with red, puffy eyes. Just because she knew the breakup was coming didn't mean it was any easier. Iris had wanted to believe in the easy solution; stay with Eddie and make herself be happy. He was a great guy. Why shouldn't she be happy with him? She had thought she loved him and maybe with a little more time, she would have.

This is why she needed Barry. He had always made sense out of everything whether it had been boy problems like this, popular girls teasing her at school, or just plain self-esteem issues, it had always been Barry that she turned to. Now that she knew that they loved each other, why should it be any different?

_That's exactly why it's different. I don't want him to just reassure me and tell me anyone would be lucky to have me, I . . . I want . . . hi- _She had yet to confess her feelings to herself, she couldn't. She loved her best friend and wanted to be more than his best friend, and she knew she could be. So what was she so afraid off?

Iris's thoughts had kept her too distracted. She was twenty feet away from the police station doors when someone grabbed her from behind. She barely had time to scream before a cloth was placed over her mouth. Iris had never been able to hold her breath for very long, fifteen to twenty seconds at most, so it didn't take very long for her to give in and breathe in the fumes from the chloroform cloth, but apparently, she had enough time to hallucinate before passing out because she saw a red streak and then Barry's face where the streak stopped.

Barry heard a scream right outside the station. He ran to his window to see what was going on, so he wouldn't be charging blindly into a fight. What he saw terrified him. A man was pressing a cloth to Iris's face. Barry didn't think he just ran. He ran as fast as he possibly could with all of the twists, turns, and obstacles in his way in the crowded police station. He was still too slow.

By the time he got outside to where Iris was, all he saw was her and her captor fading away and a shocked look on Iris's semiconscious face.

Joe appeared at his side. "What happened?"

"Teleportation. I don't know where they went." Barry said looking all around in a vain hope that they hadn't gone very far.

"I'll call the lab and have them start looking. You . . . run . . . search. Just do what you have to do." Joe was shaking slightly as he pulled out his phone and walk back into the station.

Barry took off as fast as he could. He ran in ever widening circles looking everywhere he could think of as to where the other meta could have taken Iris.

He had searched three quarters of the city by the time he heard his phone ring. He answered and heard Caitlyn's voice.

"She's in Lamb Valley."

"I don't know where that is, Caitlyn."

"It's the subdivision north of the Glades."

"The teleporter took her to Starling?" Barry asked incredulously.

"Yep." This time it was Cisco's voice. "Better start running dude."

"Call _backup._" Barry hung up the phone and started running. He knew they understood what he meant.

His cloths were burning, but he barely thought about that. He couldn't feel the fire, only see it and smell it, but he knew he was getting burns all over.

He reached Lamb Valley in record time. He called Caitlyn and Cisco.

"Where to now, guys?"

"Two lefts, one right, fourth house on the left." Caitlyn ordered.

Barry followed her directions and barged into the already open house. He followed the Arrow's path of broken objects to the basement where he saw Iris tied in a corner and Arrow fighting the metahuman. He was teleporting behind or away from Oliver fairly frequently and while the metahuman was still getting plenty beat up (with an arrow in his left knee), Oliver couldn't quite catch him.

"Nice of you to show up Flash." Arrow growled as he continued to fight. "Might want to untie your friend instead of just watching." Barry snapped into action racing over to Iris and freeing her then running back to help fight the metahuman.

The meta couldn't teleport very quickly, but Barry couldn't touch him while he was teleporting though the meta could still land punches on him- totally not fair by the way-, and Barry couldn't predict where he would go. It seemed like they were fighting for ages before Barry landed a lucky hit and the metahuman fell to the ground.

"Barry?" Iris asked tentatively.

"Heeeeey, Iris." Barry said nervously.

"Barry, you don't have time to talk. You are barely on your feet." Arrow said grabbing Barry's arm as he started falling. He hadn't realized just how badly he had been burned on the way there or how badly he'd been hurt while fighting. His strength was failing now, the adrenaline was leaving his system.

"Barry!" Iris called out reaching for her best friend.

"Do you think you can make it to the foundry?" Arrow asked.

"Arrow Cave?" Barry asked teasingly.

"Or I could leave you here. Answer the question." Arrow smirked at him.

Iris's eyes widened in fear. _He wouldn't really abandon her injured friend would he?_

"I can't stand up, Arrow." Barry winced in pain as he tried to stand one more time.

"Ok kid." Oliver said scooping Barry into his arms.

"What about Iris? Can't just leave her here." He was fading out of consciousness.

"I'll come back for her. I promise." Barry didn't hear his response. He had already lost consciousness. Arrow turned to Iris. "The foundry isn't far from here. I'll be twenty minutes at the most." Arrow tossed her his phone. "Call Joe, let him know you're ok. Twenty minutes."

"How do I know I can trust you? You've killed people."

"Barry trusts me."

"I don't know who you are." Iris said. She did not want to let a murderer take her best friend from her, but he had saved her and Eddie from- from Barry when he was going crazy. Could she trust him?

"I have a feeling you'll know who I am by the time I come back." Arrow turned his back on her, and still carrying Barry, he left the building, climbed onto his motorcycle and drove off, leaving Iris pacing on the porch of her kidnapper's house.

_Her kidnapper._

They had both been so focused on Barry that they hadn't spared a thought for the metahuman that had caused all of this.

She would babysit the man until the Arrow returned in now . . . fifteen minutes. She took out the phone he had tossed her and called her father. Once again she had been told the Arrow could be trusted. She hung up with her father and thought. The Arrow had said she would be able to figure out who he was.

Iris realized that the Arrow must know her. _She _knew the man beneath the hood. Barry obviously did too, so who did he know in Starling City?

Wait, this was crazy. She had just found out that her best friend, _her Barry_, was the Flash, and she was sitting here trying to figure out who the freaking Arrow was?

_Barry_ was the_ Flash._

Her best friend was a superhero.

For so long she had thought he didn't keep secrets from her. Then she thought his biggest secret was knowing Oliver Queen. Then she thought his biggest secret was being in love with her. But now, _this._

Back up. Oliver Queen. The playboy billionaire marooned on an island for five years who returned a completely different person. Different enough to have become Robin Hood.

Iris's kidnapper was just barely stirring when the Arrow came back.

"What are you going to do about him . . . Oliver?"

He pulled down his hood and looked at the man. Oliver put him in a chokehold as Yow Fe **(spelling?)** had once done to him to give him the appearance of death.

"He won't wake up until I allow him to."

Iris once again looked at him in fear.

"C'mon, time to go." He told Iris.

"Where?"

"The foundry. Where Barry is. I figured you'd want to wait with him until he's ready to be driven back to Central City."

Iris followed Oliver out to his motorcycle where he put his hood back up.

"Driven? Is he in that bad of condition?" Her heart began to race. Oliver grabbed her arms.

"He's fine. He heals fast, but the burns came from him running all the way here without his suit, so running back with you and neither of you having fireproof clothing or other protection . . . not the best idea."

Iris nodded and climbed on the back of the motorcycle with the bow and arrow wielding former killer.

When they got to the foundry Iris immediately ran towards Barry who was lying on a table with two people standing over him.

"Bear!" She grabbed his hand and then noticed the other people in the room. "Felicity?"

"Hi Iris." She greeted happily. "This is Diggle and Roy."

Iris nodded at the men in greeting. "Felicity. You work for the Arrow. Barry is the Flash. Oliver Queen is the Arrow. Felicity works for the Arrow. The Arrow has other friends." Iris continued to mumble new things she had just learned. "Ok, ok this is too much. Too much." Oliver grabbed her arm and sat her down in a chair.

Two hours later Barry was well enough to stand. He went right over to Iris, who stood and immediately went into his arms.

"Wow, I thought you'd be mad at me." Barry smiled down at his friend still snuggled tightly against his chest.

"I am mad. I'm beyond mad. I'm- I'm _livid_. Yes, that's a good word. Livid." She glared at him, but then he could see the excitement explode within her. "But this is _awesome_! We're standing in the Arrows hide out. You're almost healed from nasty injuries in about three hours. Not to mention you have other superpowers. I'm really mad about not being told all of this, but for now I'm just going to go with this is awesome!"

Oliver dropped them off at Joe's place, and they waited on the doorstep talking for a few minutes.

She kept smiling at him and telling him when he was _completely_ better he needed to take her for a run.

Barry was glad to see her smile so much. He didn't see very much of that precious smile anymore, but she would explain why in due time.

_Or maybe she won't have too. _Barry thought as her lips crashed onto his.

"I love you too." Iris said. "Eddie broke up with me because my heart wasn't really in the relationship, and it took me a lot longer than it should have to admit to myself where I knew my heart really was."

Barry's lips crashed onto hers again until they realized they needed to go inside and prove to Joe that they really were ok.

**I just kind of wrote until my fingers hurt on that one. Sorry if it sounds like the word vomit that it legitimately was.**


	48. Chapter 48

**Long days like this make me grateful for the ability to write.**

**Prompt from Lyco X. Follow up to chapter 25. The police department finds out about metahumans.**

Barry was well aware of the suspicion about him being a metahuman, not just because of Iris finding out, but because plenty of officers had flat out asked him he was a 'mutant man.' He decided very quickly that he preferred the term metahuman. No matter what they called him, he was not surprised when he got called into Captain Singh's office.

"Are you?" The captain said as he gestured for Barry to sit down.

"Am I?" Barry knew exactly what Singh was talking about, but that didn't mean he had to let on immediately.

"Are you a . . . metahuman?" Captain Singh still struggled with the idea of people like him existing. "You don't have to hide from us. We just want the help of metahumans. You were struck by lightning the night people like that were created. You're our CSI, you understand why we believe you to be . . . different."

"Of course I understand, I just-" Barry started to deny his abilities, but was interrupted by gunfire, lots of it.

"If you are a metahuman, now would be a great time to prove it, Allen." The captain growled as they both went to the windows of his office to observe the situation.

"What exactly do you think I can do?"

"_Something_ helpful."

One of the armed robbers that had been arrested late last night or maybe it was early this morning, Barry hadn't kept track, had somehow gotten out of his handcuffs and had gotten ahold of an officer's gun. He had shot the four officers assigned to babysit them until they could be transferred. He had retrieved the key to the handcuffs and was currently unlocking the other members of his team, occasionally waving his gun around to ward off the cops that surrounded him. When they had all been unlocked they each took a gun from a fallen officer.

Captain Singh's suspicions were confirmed when Joe looked over to the office where he knew Barry currently was and nodded.

"Now would be a good time to be something helpful, Allen." Singh prodded.

"Okay."

Barry sped out of the office and straight at the armed men. Before they even knew that something was amiss, their guns were in the captain's office, and they were once again handcuffed, but because they had already escaped handcuffs, they were also tied very tightly to four separate chairs with steaming rope that Barry had found in the basement of the precinct. He still wasn't sure why they had rope in the basement, but it came in handy so he wouldn't complain.

He hadn't had time to eat more than two thousand calories that morning, so he could feel himself on the verge of passing out.

"Joe!" Joe ran over to catch his collapsing son.

"Where are the 'Cisco Bars'?" Joe said quickly while everyone in the precinct just stared in shock at their goofy, dependent, always late forensic scientist. Well, not so dependent apparently.

"My locker, in the lab, in a duffel." Barry could barely keep his head up.

"Eddie, go!" Joe called to Eddie's already retreating form. "Hold on son, or do you want to STAR Labs to pump you with forty IV bags again?"

"I'm not dying Joe. By the way that's another thing that has been Cisco-fied. They've gotten me down to only needing two IV bags."

Eddie came back down the stairs carrying the duffel. I didn't want to . . . invade . . . your . . . space." Eddie struggled to speak. He set the bag between Barry and Joe and backed up as if he expected it to explode. Joe reached in and pulled out a calorie bar.

Barry chewed it and winced at the taste of earwax with a hint of taco. Cisco was still experimenting with the flavor.

"How much do you have to eat in a day?" An officer asked.

"About as much as a normal person eats in a year it seems." Barry sat up and looked completely normal.

"How many speedsters are there? You, the Flash, the guy in yellow . . ." Captain Singh asked. "I knew you were a metahuman, but I didn't think that power would be all that common."

"There are only two of us that I know of." Barry didn't want to tell them right away, it would be more fun if they figured it out on their own.

"Barry are you sure you're okay? He just listed three." Eddie knelt beside him looking in his eyes and around his head. Barry wasn't sure what he was hoping to accomplish because his inspection wouldn't have given him any information even if there was something wrong with him. There were plenty of things Eddie Thawne was good at it, but it appeared Barry had found the one thing he wasn't good at.

"Yep. I know."

Eddie paused. "Wait, what?!" He reached for Barry's duffel bag, no longer afraid of invading his personal space. He opened it and saw the red fabric within it. "No way. I would have known."

"Eddie, Iris is my best friend and has been for my whole life, and she didn't figure it out until she got a call from the station asking her if I was a meta." Barry tried to reassure him.

"You tried to kill me." Eddie said, unbelief clear in his voice.

Barry winced. "Yeah. Sorry about that. There was a crazy metahuman that gave people irrational anger by looking in their eyes. Something about the color his eyes turned shut down control functions in the brain. I was affected and it just so happened that it was during the time you were trying to get task force, so when my metabolism was no longer able to fight off the affects, I went after you. Words can't describe how glad I am that the Arrow was able to stop me. I don't want to think about what could have happened." He had a far off look in his eye like he was imagining all the ways that night could have gone worse.

"Okay." Eddie said simply.

"Okay?" How was trying to kill him okay?

"I believe you. The real you meant no harm." Eddie turned to the captain who had been standing against the wall for most of this conversation but was now standing right above the kneeling men.

"Task force disbanded, and you will be going into the field a lot more often."

Joe wanted to argue, but why? He was already in the field a lot, but now at least he would have backup of some sort. Things were about to change.


	49. Chapter 49

**I have dance concerts starting yesterday, so my updates might be slower, sorry.**

**This is the only love triangle I support.**

**Prompt from Highlander 348. Flash cheekily taunts Iris that she will never unmask him, so she gets devious and devises a trap where Flash gets tied up and is now panicked as Iris comes in smiling like the cat that caught the canary as she slowly unmasks him while Barry protests like crazy.**

Barry stood on the roof of Jitters looking at Iris. She was beautiful.

"Do you trust me, Flash?"

He hesitated. Of course he trusted her, but where was she going with this? "Yes, I trust you."

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Iris turned to face him. She wouldn't do anything that would endanger him; she wouldn't do something stupid and reckless like post his name on her blog. Iris just wanted to get to know her guardian angel as more than a masked man. She didn't even know what his real voice sounded like.

Barry sighed. He should have known it would be something like that. "Iris, uhhh, Iris, it's . . . too dangerous. I know you can take care of yourself, but these people that I fight . . . they're different. They are powerful, and I couldn't bear it if-if one of them got lucky and hurt you, o-or worse."

"Why me? Why is it me that you talk to?" Iris looked up at his face like she usually didn't have the courage to do.

Barry stepped closer to her and reached out to hug her like he did as Barry so often but pulled back at the last second.

"You are sincere. You care so much about the people around you, and you give more hope to this city than I do. I- I . . . never mind."

"No, what were you going to say?" Iris tilted her head in response to his lowered gaze.

"Nothing it's not important."

"Well, I kind of feel like it was. I want to hear it." She stepped closer to him.

"I-" He breathed the word. Barry was afraid of saying it and so was the Flash. "I love you, Iris."

"I- I think I might love you too, but-" Iris breathed deeply. She knew she felt strongly for him, but she felt the same way for Barry too.

"But, your boyfriend. Eddie." Barry sighed. He knew better than to think this would be easy. She was dating someone else that she loved, and she didn't even know who was telling her he loved her.

"No we broke up a few days ago." Iris looked him in the eye.

_What? Why didn't she tell me?_

"Then . . . who?" He asked then hastily added, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I'm sorry. I don't really want to say anything more until I can straighten out my thoughts and figure out my own feelings. I don't want to lead you on, or- or do anything wrong."

"Well, you're not getting this mask off, so I don't have room to judge." He smiled at her, more sincerely than he thought he'd be able to, and tried to lighten the mood.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'm a bit more cunning than you think." She was glad that he had tried to lessen the tension that was building between them. Iris could not lose him. It wasn't a possibility she could even think of. She didn't know why it was so hard for her, they hadn't known each other very long, but it felt like forever. Being with him was just as natural as being with Barry, even if it was a little more mysterious.

They teased each other about their secrets for a while. It felt so comfortable, he didn't hide like he felt he had to as Barry; the guy she'd known forever. It was _nice._ It was easy. He tried not to let her catch him staring, but she did- more than once.

Soon it was time for him to go and time for her to start plotting how to get the mask off. She figured that if she could solve that problem, she could solve any problem, including what to do about her feelings for Barry and the Flash. While she hoped for an easy answer like; she only felt like she loved the Flash because he's an interesting mystery, or she only felt like she loved Barry because he had been her best friend her whole life, but she knew that it couldn't be as simple as that.

About two weeks later she called the flash to come meet her. She had a plan. It wasn't a perfect plan, and it probably wouldn't work very well with someone who had super speed, but she only had so much to work with. It didn't seem right to enlist Barry's help in this, so she had had to plan it alone.

There were trip wires all around the rooftop and only Iris knew where they all were. She had place two chairs up there; one booby trapped, one normal. (She just had to make sure to get to that one first if the trip wires didn't work well enough.) Her coworkers had all given her odd looks when he went to the roof at every break she had in those two weeks, but she was thinking her plan might be worth all of it.

There were other traps too, but tripping him and then tying him was the best chance she had. Right? After all he couldn't run away if he couldn't stand up.

She waited in the main area of Jitters, excited to try out her crude trap.

Her excitement only grew when she was whisked away to the roof. If he recognized that her heart was beating even faster than usual, he didn't show it.

It didn't take the speedster very long to fall prey to one of the trip wires. _Rope. _ She forgot the rope. How was she supposed to tie him down now? How could she have done all of this and forgot rope?

But maybe she didn't need it. The Flash had turned face up while she had been thinking, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry to stand up, and she didn't think he had really realized she was trying to do.

She went over to him and sat on his stomach with one leg on either side of him, successfully pinning him down. Iris yanked the trip wire loose and tied his wrists.

That was when Barry realized what he was trying to do.

"Iris, did you not listen when I told you how dangerous it was for you to know my identity? Dangerous metahumans will threaten you and possibly your family. Iris, please, trust me." Barry pled with her but at the same time he really wanted her to know, so it would be two less secrets that he was keeping from his friend. It wouldn't be just two less, it would be none. He would have no secrets left, and he let himself imagine what that would feel like.

He wanted Iris to know so badly, but Barry reminded himself how much danger she would be in constantly, and he knew that he couldn't force that life on her. In the end it proved that he was not the one to choose whether her life was put in that danger, she was. She tore his mask off and pulled back in surprise.

It now made sense how she could love two men equally. It was a simple answer, just not one that she would ever had guessed; she was in love with two different sides of one man.

Barry waited for yelled words, or a weight lifting off his stomach and leaving. What he got was his best friend's body pressed further against his chest as she leaned down to kiss him.

"I love you too, Bear."


	50. Chapter 50

**Prompt from Kyanna Lashae. Iris finds out about Barry being the Flash while he's asleep because he talks in his sleep or he sleepwalks.**

It was the only three day weekend that all three of them didn't have to work, and Iris had conned Barry into staying over at her father's house with her. They were going to have a sleepover in the living room, just the two of them like they did when they were little.

Barry was nervous. Ever since he was little he had slept walked whenever he was feeling guilty, and he was certainly feeling guilty right now. He was keeping two huge secrets from his best friend. _Huge_ secrets. Now was not the time to be having a sleep over with the one person who knew him better than everyone else in the world. She had known his sleep walking was a sign of guilt, and she would be on his case. Iris always woke up when he started sleep walking, it was like she had a sixth sense for it.

Iris sat excitedly on the living room in her old house. Eddie hadn't been all too happy about this plan, especially when she told him she just wanted it to be her and Barry. She still wasn't really sure why, though. He had gotten far madder than she thought was reasonable. It wasn't as if Barry returned her less than platonic feelings for him, and she really cared about Eddie, but he was starting to act possessive of her since she had moved in with him. If he kept it up for another week, she would be out. Out of his apartment, out of this relationship, and as out of his life as she could be considering that he was her father's partner.

Barry was running late again, and Iris was going crazy. Iris heard his key slide into the lock, ran to the door, and flung it open.

"Hi Bear." He laughed at the giddy expression on her face, and gave her a hug.

"How long have you been waiting for me?" He tilted his head.

"About half an hour." Iris shot him a fake glare.

"What?! I'm only like five minutes late. I swear!" Barry looked down at his watch, and sighed in relief.

"I know. I'm just excited, we haven't done this in, like, forever." Iris swung her hands around crazily.

"Okay." Barry was still standing partially outside. Iris grabbed his hand and yanked him inside.

"C'mon. C'mon. Did you understand the part about being really excited?!"

"Wha-" Barry said as she yanked him again toward the living room couch.

Barry sat down on the couch, and Iris laid down with her feet on his lap. He smiled at how comfortable she could be around him. He hoped that comfort would last. Barry was not unaware of the potential this sleepover had to spill his secrets.

Iris sighed in happiness as he grabbed one of her feet and began to gently massage her feet. She had always told him while they were growing up that if he didn't love science so much he would have to have been a masseuse. He had replied that his massages would be saved specifically for her. It had been one of the few things that had given her hope of a more serious relationship in their early adult lives, but those little moments were fleeting and rare, so she had never had the courage to act on her feelings. What if she had been misreading those things? If she broke up with Eddie, she would lose a great relationship, but if she broke up with Barry, she would lose a life-long friendship and what would probably be the best relationship she could ever have.

_Or if they didn't break up, _she allowed herself to think as he switched to her other foot, her heart racing at his soft touch. _They could be happier than ever for the rest of their lives._

The two friends were not as young as they once were. They fell asleep well before midnight, Barry too despite his desperate attempts to stay awake.

Iris woke up as her feet slide off of Barry's moving form. _Where could he be going?_

"Hey, Bear. What's going on?" She waited for a response but none came. "Bear?" She got up to follow him and found that he was still asleep. "Oooooooooooh. Whatcha feeling so guilty about Barry?" Her voice was teasing but also curious. She knew her question would get a response until she repeated it in the waking hours of the day, or at least that's what she thought.

If Barry had known he would start running in his sleep walking state he would have fought a bit harder to get out of this whole re-creation of childhood memories sleep over thing, but he didn't, so he did what he always did; anything to make the woman he loved feel happy, cared for and worthwhile.

"C'mon Bear." Iris finally caught him after about three minutes of him continually racing out of her reach. She dragged him back to the couch with her and made him lie down. It was harder than she thought it would be. He had gotten a lot stronger in the past few months since he woke up from his coma. He would have had to in all his time saving the city. She still didn't know how to react to all of this. She loved him, but he had been keeping a humongous secret from her.

For now she just curled up partially beside him, partially on top of him to keep him lying down. She fell asleep and didn't feel his arm wrap around her protectively until she woke up the next morning still curled up with him. She refused to let herself imagine a situation in which she could do this every day. Iris had spent years trying to hide those forbidden feelings.

"I know you're awake, Iris. You're breathing changed."

"Oh, do you, Flash?" She felt Barry go rigid beneath her.

"Iris, I-" Barry started. He was fairly certain he knew how she found out.

"I had pretty much all night to think about it, and I understand. Don't get me wrong I disagree whole heartedly with you thinking I need to be protected from everything, but I understand. Just tell me that's your last secret. Please." Iris turned to look him straight in the eye.

"I can't do that."

"Why not? What else have you been keeping from me?" She could feel her heart break little by little.

"I love you. Not just as a friend. I have loved you forever, and I know you're with-"

Iris cut Barry off with a kiss.

"I love you too, Bear. I wish you would have come clean to me earlier." She kissed him again before she heard a knock on the door.

Joe was the one to answer it. "Hi, Eddie." He said the name loud enough for his kids to hear. Barry's eyes widened, and he and Iris jumped apart.

**Sorry to end so abruptly, but that's all I have time for. Love ya.**


	51. Chapter 51

**Sorry this is late. I had a ton of homework and part two and three of my dance showcase.**

**Prompt from Chooch 77. Iris sees the confrontation between Reverse Flash and Barry when she's in the stadium for some reason.**

"I just don't know what to do, Megan." Iris sat down and began to complain to one of the few girls she had been friends with since high school. She had spent most of her time with Barry, so she hadn't had many other friends to begin with. Iris hadn't needed anyone else because she had had her mad scientist best friend that took care of anything and everything that she needed or wanted without hesitation. But _now_ she found herself desperately wishing she had more female friends that she could go to for advice.

"I need more background to this statement, hon." Megan turned attentive eyes on Iris. Iris never came to her for things like this, at least not while Barry was out of his coma. "Is Barry suffering from some long term effects of the lightning strike or something?" She was worried.

Iris sucked in a deep breath. "Could that still happen? Nothing has happened yet, could he really still be in danger?" Her heart beat faster. This was hard enough to deal with, so Barry was not allowed to be sick. That would not be fair.

"If you don't know then he's probably just fine, Iris. You just don't usually come to me when you need help. You've always gone to Barry." Megan's words set off the tears that had been silently restrained in her eyes, and Megan still didn't truly understand why.

"Barry told me he loved me. Like as more than a friend, but I've already agreed to move in with Eddie. Then there's the thing with the Flash on top of that."

"Iris, you have had a massive crush on Barry since second grade, which I personally, would characterize as creepy and in love all at the same time. If a prior agreement to move in with someone was all it took to stop love, this world would be empty and meaningless. You're not married Iris, you haven't even moved your stuff to his place yet. I have seen you with Barry, and I've seen you with Eddie. You light up whenever you see Barry, and if he's sad, your mood immediately dampens. With Eddie, you've ignored his phone calls, your smiles have seemed more and more forced as you've been with him, and Iris, you talked about Barry being in love with you and your excuse was 'I've already _agreed to move in with_ Eddie.' You were talking about love and Barry, but you rebutted it with an agreement. Iris, you wouldn't say you love Eddie because you don't. It's always been you and Barry, and it always will be."

"That doesn't clear up what I feel with the Flash." Iris wanted, desperately, for her friend to be wrong, but she knew Megan was right. Megan was always right when it came to relationship problems.

"I don't know what's been going on with you and the Flash. You stopped talking about him constantly."

"He attacked Eddie, and he told me another metahuman caused it. I believed him, but I still told him never to contact me again. He- he hasn't." Iris stuttered the last sentence.

"You're obviously upset that he followed your command, so why did you give it?" This conversation was starting to feel a lot like therapy.

"I needed him to be gone, but-but I didn't want him to be. I've had feeling for him. It's . . . Megan, I'm so confused." Iris laid her head down on the table and sighed.

"Iris, is it possible that what you feel for the Flash is just because he has superpowers and you feel like a superhero movie love interest? Or maybe because he's a mystery?" Megan asked. She was worried that Iris would be mad, but the question needed to be asked.

"I wish." Was Iris's mumbled answer. "I feel the same way as with Barry

"Ok, I'm going to do something I shouldn't. My fiancé works as a janitor down at the Stadium, and he says that whenever he's there at night he gets the answers he needs. I'm going to give you my key." Megan dug in her purse and pulled out the key to the stadium. "I think Matt's just a bit crazy where this is concerned, but maybe it will help you too."

Iris slid the key into her pocket and thanked her friend. She told herself she would go that night.

"Before you go let's make sure we have this narrowed down to two. OK?"

Iris nodded.

"The first thing that pops into your head, say it. Barry or Eddie?"

"Barry." Iris paused. "Wow. That worked." Iris was shocked that it had been so natural, but the more she thought about it the more Barry seemed like the obvious choice. He had always been there for her, he was sweet, and he was hers. Eddie hadn't been in her life that long, and it was fun to be with him, but Megan was right; she was happier when she was hanging out with Barry than when she was sleeping with Eddie.

Barry stood looking out his window when he saw it. Saw _him._ The man in the yellow suit. Then man who killed his mother and framed his father. He was on a rooftop not too far from the precinct watching, waiting. The yellow suited man ran down the building, Barry took off without his suit to catch the man.

They stopped in an alley and the man faced Barry as if taunting him.

"It was you. You were the one on my house that night. You killed my mother!" Barry's voice rose with each sentence. "WHY!?"

"If you want to know that, you're gonna have to catch me." Yep definitely taunting. Yellow took off and Barry followed.

They ran through the streets of Central City as fast as they could. Barry began to realize that he was not nearly fast enough to catch the other man. Yellow stopped inside the stadium. Barry didn't even have time to wonder why it was unlocked. The stadium lights turned on, and the other speedster reappeared in front of him. Neither of them noticed the woman sitting in the stands in shock, thinking Megan's fiancé, Matt, was definitely right about this stadium bringing the answers to all questions.

The two speedsters ran towards each other. Barry was pushing himself to reach as high a speed as he could. He was regretting not taking extra time on the treadmill like Dr. Wells had suggested. Barry flipped over his enemy's shoulder and the metahuman stood over him looking down on him.

"Not fast enough, Flash." His voice vibrated, and it sounded familiar to Barry, but he just couldn't place it.

Yellow took off running through the seats with Red farther behind than he hoped, but close enough to continue fighting as they ran. Iris didn't know where a safe place to move would be, so she stayed in place. The Reverse Flash didn't notice her, but she had a feeling that Barry had.

They found their way back down to the field, and Barry was thrown to the ground again. He grunted as the man in yellow kicked him, ran off, and repeated several times.

"Who are you?" Barry shouted.

"You know who I am, Barry." The yellow suited man started beating him again, and Barry was once again thrown down to the ground.

"I don't know who you are!" Barry half stood half leaned on the ground.

"But you do, Barry. We've been at this a long time, you and I, but I'm always one step ahead." He continued to disguise his voice.

Barry threw a punch but the Reverse Flash dodged it easily, and returned it with his own before running off. When he came back around to Barry, he grabbed him by his shirt and threw him to the ground this time holding him down.

"It is your destiny to lose to me, Flash. Just as it was your mother's destiny to die that night." The man in yellow who had haunted Barry all his life ran off into the night before Barry could even rise to his feet.

He sat up slightly, but it hurt too much, and he collapsed back to the ground. Iris ran out of the stands and knelt by his side.

"Barry? Barry!" She gently shook his shoulder trying to make sure she didn't hurt him.

"Oww. Iris, what are you doing here? You could have been hurt." Barry groaned and opened his eyes to look up at his best friend.

"It doesn't matter we need to get you help." Iris was starting to panic. Even after nine months of visiting his motionless body, he was not used to seeing her careful best friend injured.

"It does matter, and I'm fine, Iris. I heal fast, it comes with the speed."

"So that's why you eat so much." Iris laughed.

"Don't try to change the subject. Why are you here?" Barry looked up at her with pleading eyes, and she cracked.

Barry listened intently with a growing smile as he listened to her conversation with Megan earlier that day.

"Sooooooooo, where do we go from here?" Barry asked when she had finished.

"We go here." Iris leaned down to Barry as he began to sit up. They bumped their heads and laughed. Then they both sank deeply into a kiss.


	52. Chapter 52

**I love writing all these follow ups. I'm glad you guys like the stories enough to want more.**

**Prompt from Marubang043. Follow up to chapter 29 where Oliver tells Iris he's the Arrow. **

"I need to get back to the lab, guys. Arrow's going to kill me. Actually, he stopped killing, he'll just beat me near death and let Caitlyn finish me off." Barry turned toward Felicity and the door.

"You do know that Arrow likes you. He just likes teasing you more." Felicity laughed.

"Yeah, that explains why I got two arrows in my back this morning." Barry spoke sarcastically, and Iris eyes widened comically.

"He did what? You are not going to see him without me and that's final." Iris ran over and looped her arm in his. "Let's go." She turned her head to say goodbye to Eddie.

"I'll play catch up with you later." Eddie said with, Barry detected, resignation, but it didn't seem to be about staying in the hospital while the rest of them left.

"So how should we do this, so Barry doesn't set either of us on fire?" Felicity asked.

Barry chuckled. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to need to hear this story." Iris said looking between them.

"Please no." Barry shook his head at the two women who he just knew were going to start telling rather embarrassing stories.

"Barry, why don't you run and get my car? Then you could pick us up." Iris suggested.

"'Cause I kind of . . . broke the window." Barry reminded her.

"I took the motorcycle to get here. You can ride with me and Barry can run." Felicity saw Iris's worried look. "Arrow won't really hurt him. Besides he heals fast. Which is really good considering his low pain tolerance."

"I don't have a low pain tolerance. Ol-Arrow just has a really high pain tolerance, and that's what you've gotten used to." Barry retaliated.

"Yeah, and Canary, Arsenal, and Dig." Felicity teased as Iris watched them with amusement, and Felicity noticed a bit of jealousy.

"Assassin, former mirakuru warrior/Glades citizen, who by the way is afraid of needles, and an army man. These are the people you're comparing me to."

Iris looked at Felicity. "I would never have guessed that you were friends with someone who had killed as many people as the Arrow, but another assassin, and . . . and I'm not really sure what a mirkiruh warrior is . . ."

"Mirakuru. It's a serum developed by the Japanese during World War I to create super soldiers. Basically it made people incredibly strong, they healed fast, and warped their minds. No one who survived the initial injection and was not given the cure has died."

Iris turned a wide eyed gaze on the blonde. "Is anyone who I thought they were?"

"Don't worry you get used to it . . . mostly." Felicity climbed onto the motorcycle, and Iris sat behind her.

"See ya, Barry." Iris said as they rode off. Barry ran only as fast as the motorcycle for a minute before Felicity reminded him he should probably check in as soon as possible.

Iris and Felicity arrived only ten minutes after Barry.

Barry was sitting on the examination table, and Caitlyn was yelling at him for being careless.

Iris grabbed Felicity's arm before she could be seen by anyone in the main room.

"Hold on I want to listen to this." Iris whispered, and Felicity smiled in response.

"Seriously, Barry, how could you be so stupid? Now Iris and Eddie _both_ know your so called secret. You know how dangerous that is to them and to you! We told you that needed to be careful. We said take the Arrow with you, but no what did you do? You went alone, and then the meta affected you, and you spilled your secret. _How could you be so stupid?!"_ Caitlyn yelled, and Iris winced on Barry's behalf.

"Help." Came Barry's pleading voice.

"Alright, Caitlyn." The voice was slightly familiar, but not someone she could place. "Let me take it from here."

"I'm not sure that qualifies as help." Barry squeaked.

"C'mon kid." It was that same voice, and two sets of footsteps came toward the doorway where Iris and Felicity were hiding.

Felicity pulled Iris back a few feet and started walking back toward the door right as Barry and-and Oliver-freaking-Queen came out.

"You're guys aren't that sneaky." Oliver told them. "I know you better than that Felicity. C'mon let's give Caitlyn sometime to breathe."

"Wait, you're not mad at me? You with the 'case your surroundings'?" Barry asked hesitantly.

"Oh, no, I mad at you for being an idiot, but you're still pretty new at this, and well, you have Caitlyn to do the yelling for me." Oliver noticed Iris's wide eyed gaze.

"I'm not sure who I was expecting the Arrow to be, but I wasn't expecting you, and yet it makes all the sense in the world." Barry laughed as his best friend continued to babble almost as much as Felicity.

The small group wondered around the lab.

"Are you okay, Iris?" Barry placed his hand on the small of her back to guide and support her after he noticed that she couldn't walk straight.

"Yeah. It's just a lot to process." Iris seemed dizzy.

"Do you want to sit down for a little while?" Felicity and Oliver stopped just slightly ahead of them.

"I can find you a chair." Oliver offered.

"No, I'll be okay." Barry gave her a skeptical look. "If you'd prefer, you could carry me." Iris worked to make her voice sarcastic, but she had realized how fantastic it felt to be in the Flash's, no _Barry_'s arms, and she wanted to feel it again.

"Ok." Barry said scooping her off the ground. She couldn't stop the small happy laugh as soon as she was back in his arms.

The group continued walking.

"So, Barry's 'the Arrow wears green so he must have trained in a forested environment' theory was true." Iris asked after a few minutes of silence.

Oliver hung his head and laughed. "Goodness Barry. I did train in a forested environment, for about two years, but the hood belonged to my trainer, Yao Fei, and then to his daughter."

"Only two years? You were on the island for five." Iris's journalistic curiosity was coming out.

"You're lucky have gotten that much." Barry whispered in her ear.

"He's right." Oliver replied.

"How? How did you hear that? I spoke as quietly as I possibly can." Barry questioned. Oliver smirked with his head turned so only Felicity could just barely see.

Iris sighed and sank deeper into Barry's arms with her head buried in his neck. It had been a long day. She didn't want to react any more than she already had before she could think things through on a fresh day, so she fell asleep in her best friend's strong arms.


	53. Chapter 53

**Prompt from Majelic. Follow up to chapter 30. Barry and Iris interacting with their kids. The kids' reactions to Daddy being so fast and learning to use their own speed. **

"Dawn!" Iris yelled. "Don!"

"Yes, Mommy?" The twins answered in sync.

"C'mere, munchkins." Barry called. He heard four feet pounding on the ground, then silence, then silence, and their children appeared on their bed. Dawn and Don laid between their parents.

Iris looked at her husband and nodded. They would have to go through with their plan. The friends had always known that if they had kids, it was a very high possibility that they would be metahumans like their father, and now the children were showing signs of their "special talents."

Barry barely saw the confusion on their faces before they faded away, replaced by excitement. The twins knew exactly why their parents had called them into their bedroom. It was their fifth birthday. The day they promised to take them to STAR Labs and tell them what Daddy really did when he wasn't at work or at home.

What the little ones didn't know was that they would also be beginning their own speed training. Barry and Iris had been trying to put it off for as long as they could, but they knew if they ignored it any longer the kids would be noticed by others, and they couldn't put their little babies in that kind of danger.

"STAR Labs!" Don shouted.

"When do we go?" Dawn bounced up and down on the bed excitedly.

"Yeah!" Her brother agreed.

"The lab won't be ready for us for a few more hours, kiddos." Iris fixed her 'I know something you don't know' look.

"And I think we're going to start with breakfast." Barry said stepping out of bed. He went into the kitchen to make his kids' favorite breakfast. French toast. He was always so relieved that his kids liked mostly the same things.

He could hear the kids squealing and jumping around in his room. When he finished making breakfast, he stood in the doorway to his bedroom watching his little family with the biggest smile on his face. It took a while for anyone to notice him because he was being very quiet.

"Go get Daddy." Iris whispered to the little ones. They turned as one and tackled Barry to the ground.

"Ok, kiddos, let's go eat." Barry stood up and immediately he had a kid wrapped around each foot. "Iris, thank you for not having triplets. I wouldn't have enough legs."

Iris just rolled her eyes and smiled at her husband.

Barry couldn't help but think how much accidental time travel had improved his life. Instead of being a mopey mess, he was married to his best friend and had two beautiful, speedy children.

He pried Don off his leg and got him to sit down at the table before doing the same with Dawn. Iris had just barely sat down and the kids were finished eating. She looked over at Barry.

He leaned down to whisper in his wife's ear. "Honey, they didn't even use super speed to do that."

"They still got that from you though." She teased.

"I have a video of you eating a pan of brownies in kindergarten that would prove otherwise." He smirked, and she slapped his arm.

**This website hates my line breaks for some reason.**

The kids were in the car blind folded. Barry was driving the four of them to the zoo, and the kids had guessed where they were going after about three turns, but their parents had thought it would be a fun thing to do. The kids were five years old, being blind folded was fun. They were currently pretending to be blind hitch hikers and were regularly poking each other's face to 'make sure they were still there.'

Iris kept looking back at them unsure of whether to stop it or not. She didn't want them fighting on their birthday and getting in trouble, but she also didn't want to stop their fun.

"Let it go, honey, they usually don't have fight over invading each other's personal space. Besides they're too excited to be too grumpy, and they know what will be cancelled if they fight." Barry raised his voice a little louder on the last part. It was an empty threat, they needed to take the kids to STAR Labs, but they didn't know that it was a necessity.

Still, they didn't stop.

Finally they arrived at the zoo. Barry and Iris each pulled a blindfold off a child's eyes. In front of the zoo sign was Grandpa Joe and all of their friends from school.

The kids ran to greet their friends. "Mommy, Daddy, can we go see the fast cats?" Don called.

"Cheetahs, Don." Dawn corrected her brother.

"Yep." They replied leading the kids in that direction while stifling laughter.

**Just another line break.**

"Are we going to the lab now?" Don asked excitedly.

Iris turned to the backseat of the car and smiled, effectively answering his question. Barry was glad his kids seemed to have infinite energy. They would be purposely and knowingly practicing their speed for the first time today, and Iris and Barry had been trying to feed their kids as much as they could, whenever they could today.

They arrived at the lab and Iris nodded at him to go. He sped off leaving the kids to wonder where he had gone. Iris led them inside and to the main room of the lab where Barry stood in his Flash suit. Iris had continued her blog even until now spreading the word of her husband's action, no matter how many times he tried to get her to stop, so the kids knew all about the masked hero.

"Flash!" They said together.

"Daddy works with the Flash?" Dawn asked.

Barry knelt down to his kids' level and played a short game of peek-a-boo. It ended with his kids staring at him in amazement.

"Daddy _is_ the Flash." Don answered his sister's earlier question.

"Can we watch you run, daddy?" Dawn gave her father unnecessary puppy dog eyes.

"Of course, Princess, but then it'll be your turn." Barry winked at them and took off on the treadmill. The kids were focused so intently on watching the blur on the treadmill that they didn't even catch what their father had told them about them getting a turn.

"Wow." Don dragged out the word as he pressed his face to the glass separating the two rooms.

Barry slowed down and stepped off the treadmill. He and Iris walked over to two objects covered in sheets and pulled the covers off. There were two smaller treadmills that Cisco had made to automatically adjust to the little one's speed as they had been unable to estimate the speed the children were able to run, and Barry was unwilling to watch his children fly off high speed treadmills.

"I want you two to get on those ones and run as fast as you can." Barry said hugging his children tightly.

They ran at a normal person's speed to the treadmills.

"Fast as you can, sweeties." Iris encouraged and then they took off. Tears filled the proud parents' eyes as they watched their children run.

"Now you're the reason all three of us run." Barry said in his wife's ear.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him, puzzled.

"They only sped up when you told them they could, Iris."

Iris pecked her husband on the lips, then the two of them turned back to watching their babies run.


	54. Chapter 54

**Prompt from Perlog Annwyl. Wally is Kid Flash and moves in with Barry. The speedster duo are fighting a version of Zoom with Iris in the room. Zoom knocks Wally unconscious, and Iris unmasks him. She figures it out from there.**

**Is Zoom the same person as the Reverse Flash? Because I was seriously confused when I looked him up. There were things saying that Zoom was the Reverse Flash, and others said that he was a similar but more twisted archetype, but he was Wally's nemesis rather than Barry's. I'm more confused than I was before I looked him up.**

Iris's brother had finally given up custody of his son Wally to Iris and Barry about a month ago. Barry had a spare room that Wally could stay in, and well, Eddie had been freaked out about taking care of a kid, and it had sparked a fight in which Iris had told him she wanted kids and didn't want to be with someone who didn't so she had moved out. She hadn't wanted to move back in with her father because she had enjoyed the freedom of not having her father always watching her, so she had also moved in with Barry. He had of course offered to take the pull out couch himself, but she had fought him on it saying it was his apartment he should have a real room.

So, that was where they had been for a month. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Iris watched how good of a dad/uncle Barry was, and she was relieved. Originally she thought it was just because she didn't want to be raising a child on her own, especially and _fifteen_ year old, but she kept thinking back to what she told Eddie about wanting to be with someone who wanted kids. It was all too confusing. She knew Barry loved her, but he was her best friend and was raising her nephew with her, so she couldn't afford to screw things up. This was too important.

Iris found herself sitting in a park that next to no one had visited in years. Well, no one except her and Barry. In third grade a girl had started bullying Iris calling her dirty and just damaging her self-esteem in general, so Barry had shown her this park. It was quiet and no one ever bothered them or even saw them. The park had quickly become Iris's favorite place, but this was the first time that she had ever gone there alone, alone with her thoughts.

Iris noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a flash of light. _Flash! _Iris hadn't talked to him since the incident with Eddie on the street. She missed him, but this wasn't him. His electric tail was more of a yellowish color whereas-wait. There were three different colors. Red, yellow, orange.

_What?_ _How are there three of them?_

Iris walked a little ways into the park and saw three distinct figures, one a bit smaller than the other two, fighting. Flash and the smaller one, Kid Flash, she thought, seemed to be fighting together against the one in yellow.

Barry had mentioned something about a man in yellow. He-he had thought it was the same man that had killed his mother. He had been so anxious whenever her father had left the station as well as having anxiety just in general. Barry had only told Iris why a little while after, so for a while she thought _all _the anxiety was because of his confession. She would be lying if she said she wasn't even a little disappointed.

But, back to the matter in front of her, the man in yellow seemed to have the upper hand even though he was outnumbered. Flash seemed to be trying to block Kid Flash from as many hits as he could. He was not successful. Both of them were seeming more like punching bags than people. They put up a pretty good fight, but neither of them were at the other man's level. The man in yellow threw Kid Flash into a tree, and he didn't move. Flash ran and knelt at his side. The man in yellow watched them with a sick smile and began to walk toward him, tauntingly slow. Iris ran over to the Flash's side.

"Look behind you." The Flash obeyed and turned back to Kid Flash worriedly.

"I told him not to follow me. I told him to stay in the lab. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him there in the first place. I should have known he'd do something like this eventually." The Flash ran his hand over his head like Barry always did when he was stressed.

"I'll take care of him. You take care of him." She pointed to the man who was now speedily circling them. The Flash took off angrily towards the man.

Iris couldn't stop the swelling in her heart at how much he seemed to love this kid. It was the same feeling she got when her best friend showed how much he loved her nephew. Just when she was thinking it was love she felt for Barry, and she was happy thinking that she was in love with her best friend, but how could she be in love with two different people?

Kid Flash groaned and pulled at his mask.

"Do you want it off?" Iris asked gently. She knew Flash wouldn't be happy about her knowing who his kid was, but if the injured child needed it off, she would take it off.

"Iris? Can you . . . get it off?" He said weakly. She would know that voice anywhere.

She pulled off the mask as gently as she could. She refused to cause her new kid anymore pain than he was already in. At least this explained all he similarities . . . and her feelings toward Barry and the Flash.

"Why did you follow Barry?! He told you to stay in the lab with Caitlyn and Cisco, didn't he?" Iris lectured once Wally was well enough to sit up.

"Barry? Why would Barry tell me to stay in a lab?" Wally had always been a terrible liar, but he had to at least try.

"I'm not dumb, Wallace." Iris's voice was threatening. "You need to listen to Barry when he tells you to stay put, it's with good reason, as you better know now."

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Iris. I've seen and dealt with more than a lot of adults, and now I have a super power. I can take care of myself."

"How'd that work out for you today? At the very least you obviously need more training."

Wally sighed. Arguing with Iris, especially when you know you're wrong, is exhausting.

~_~ **line break **~_~

Barry came speeding back. He took one look at Wally's maskless face and knew there was no point in keeping his on. He pulled it off and looked Wally over to make sure there was nothing truly wrong with him, well at least nothing that his super healing wouldn't fix without help.

Barry sighed in relief when he finished examining his nephew. "Give it three hours and he'll be perfectly fine." He told Iris. "How much trouble am I in?" He said with his typical sheepish, guilty voice.

"Not as much as you probably should be." Iris pulled him in a kissed him.

"It's about time." Wally said when they pulled apart.

"I'm not confused anymore. I love you, Barry."

"I'm a bit confused, but I love you, too, Iris."

It was an odd family, but it was a good one.


	55. Chapter 55

**Okay guys, this one is Henry Allen instead of Iris. This was a fun break in trend, for me at least, but I hope it will be for you too.**

**Prompt from Reveal Girl 666. After Henry tells Barry that "the man in the yellow suit has taken enough from us already," Barry yells that it's his job because he's the Flash and it is his duty to protect.**

**I didn't have access to the episode, so I had to do this from memory, but hopefully it's close to what actually happened.**

Barry had just lost the man who killed his mother and framed his father. For fourteen years he had devoted his life to bringing that man down, but today, when the chance was given to him, he failed. He had to go apologize to his father. It was now his fault that his father was stuck in prison. Barry was too weak to bring his mother's murderer to justice.

Henry was excited to know that Barry had come to visit him, like he always was, but he also worried. His son usually came on Thursdays, and today was Tuesday. He knew something was wrong.

"Dad. I saw the man in yellow today. The one who killed mom." Henry Allen's eyes grew wider. He knew something was wrong but-but this was unimaginable.

"I swore I would catch him, and get you out of here because every day you spent in here was his fault. Until today. Now it's my fault. When I finally had the chance to catch him I failed. I'm sorry, Dad. I'll keep trying to get you out of here, but-" Henry needed his son to stop.

"Barry, every choice you've made in the last fourteen years has been because of me and your mother. Where you went to school, what you studied, why you became a CSI, even with Iris-" It was Barry's turn to interrupt his father.

"Iris?"

"You're my son, you don't think I know how you love her?" There were tears welling up in both men's eyes. Barry shook his head in disbelief.

_Did everyone know except her?_

"Son, you can't just keep making choices because of your mother and me. You're twenty five years old now. You need to live your own life now. I'll be fine as long as you are ok. Please, son, don't go after him. The man in yellow has taken enough from us. Don't let him take anymore." Henry Allen pleaded with his son. If his son ever listened to anything he had ever said, he needed to listen now. He wondered if he could get Joe to come talk to him about this. Maybe someone _outside _of prison could through to Barry if he couldn't.

Barry stared at his father. Here was the man who had been wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years because they man in yellow killed his wife, and he was telling Barry to let the man go free because it would be easier. He didn't want the easy path. He wanted freedom for his father. He wanted a real murderer to be put in prison. He wanted his city to be safe.

"Dad, this isn't just about you and Mom anymore. There is more going on in this situation than you realize. It's my job to protect the people of this city! That man is dangerous. He killed mom, and now he is threatening Iris." Barry spoke in shock at his father's opinion on going after the man who had destroyed their family. His voice grew steadily louder as he spoke.

"_Son_, I know that you love her, but did you stop to think that maybe he's threatening her to make you go away. Maybe Iris will be safer if you just leave it alone." Henry truly knew how much she mattered to him, but that was not a good enough reason for his son to risk his life going after someone who had already proven that he was capable of murder. "Let the field officers worry about it."

"If the entire police department was out if the field, they couldn't catch him, Dad. He's a metahuman with super speed. They will not be able to catch him."

"So leave it to the guy Iris blogs about. The Flash or whatever." Barry laughed at the irony. "What's so funny? You spend fourteen years of your life believing in the impossible, and when your best friend finally finds it, you don't believe it? I think I've even seen him. He saved Joe's life when a green gas flowed into the room you're standing in." Henry didn't think that sounded like his son.

"That's what we let her believe." Barry thought he mumbled it quietly enough that his father wouldn't hear, but he was wrong.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't you tell her that you believe in the Flash?"

"It's too dangerous. If too many of the wrong people found out that she was close to me . . ." Barry trailed off.

"What's going on Barry?" Henry pushed. His son usually told him everything.

"I'm the Flash, Dad." Barry spoke quietly, knowing there were guards just outside the door.

"Barry?" Henry questioned. It didn't seem like something he would claim without it being true, but it also didn't seem like something he would keep a secret from his father. He was hit by a sudden feeling of jealousy. He always felt jealous that Joe West was able to see Barry every day and be out _there_ for him, but he must know Barry's secret, and he must have known for quite a while.

His son held up his hand and vibrated it. Henry was amazed. Barry, his little boy, whose life he had missed most of, was a super hero.

"I'm still not happy about you going after him." Henry said, after watching his son in silence for a few minutes.

"But you know why I have to, and why I have a chance?" Barry asked. He really wanted one of his fathers to be on his side about this. He knew Joe wouldn't change his mind on trying to protect him, and he knew his Dad would be the same way, but maybe if both of them agreed that he had to, or that he was the only one that was capable, it would make him feel better about going after a man that was faster and stronger than he was.

"Yeah." Henry nodded reluctantly. "Just be careful, Barry. I wouldn't be able to survive if anything were to happen to you."

When Barry left and Henry was escorted back to his 'room,' all he could do was cry silently. There was a chance he might lose his son the same way he lost his wife. He believed in Barry, but he knew that his son would not have the heart to kill someone, and he wasn't totally sure what would happen when this turned into a kill or be killed situation.


	56. Chapter 56

**I have to say, I had no clue how to do this one, so I hope it turned out ok.**

**Prompt from Guest. Follow up to chapter 34.**

Iris was about to understand Felicity and Caitlyn's love of the salmon ladder. Barry looked slightly upset at her excitement, and she knew exactly why.

Everyone thought that she was too oblivious to realize how Barry felt about her, but she had just been waiting for him to take the risk. Then she had met Eddie. Iris had really liked him and thought that she may grow to love him like she loved Barry, but it hadn't turned out that way. Still, Barry had not confessed his feelings to her, so she might as well tease him.

It was really entertaining to watch Barry's face before Oliver even got on the salmon ladder.

Oliver went towards the salmon ladder and grabbed the bar.

"Nope. You've got to give them the full affect." Felicity commanded. Barry looked at her with puppy dog eyes that she refused to acknowledge.

"Oooh, I haven't actually seen that yet. This is going to be fun." Caitlyn agreed. She had just liked seeing his arms flex.

"C'mon Felicity." Barry wasn't sure why Oliver was hesitant. He had no problem being shirtless around others he had seen, especially Felicity.

"Just do it." Felicity said. Barry knew better than to believe Oliver would disobey her.

"Fine." Oliver pulled his shirt over his head, and Caitlyn, Iris, and Barry's eyes widened. "Barry, you've seen me shirtless before."

"Yeah, but I was a little more focused on the fact you were dying." Barry gaped at the scar tissue riddling his friend's flesh.

Iris and Caitlyn had gotten over their shock and were now gaping at his body for another reason. The guy was ripped. Ripped enough to make him crazy strong and attractive, but not so ripped that he couldn't lift his hands above his head or look really creepy. Other than the scars, his body was perfect.

Iris could feel Barry getting more and more uncomfortable by the second, so she was loving this for a lot of reasons.

Oliver turned from the gawking girls and once again grabbed the bar for the salmon ladder.

Iris definitely understood the other girls' fascination with the salmon ladder. It was _amazing. _Not many bodies could look that fantastic, but Iris didn't care as much as the other girls. She had Barry, and he was good enough for. No, not good enough, better than she could ever hope for. Barry was her best friend, a hero, and the man she loved.

She watched as Oliver dropped down from the top rung of the ladder.

"Your turn." She turned and smiled at Barry.

Barry scooped her up in his arms, but before he could run off, Oliver spoke. "You're gonna set her on fire."

"Right." Barry bit his lip thinking.

"You haven't set me on fire before." Iris pointed out.

"Those times were really short distances." He turned to Cisco. "Are you going to be mad if I put her in one of my extra suits?"

"Go ahead, man." Cisco didn't look happy about the idea, but he was looking forward to her reaction from a long distance run. Then, maybe, Barry would get on the treadmill and show off his tech!

Iris slipped the too big suit over her normal clothes, and she felt herself scooped up into her best friend's arms. This was the best part. Being in his strong comforting arms without needing to be comforted.

Then he took off. She was glad he wasn't too shy to hold onto her because she would not survive a fall. If it was anyone else carrying her, she would be begging for them to stop, but she was enjoying the ride. She could feel the wind assault her face but the Flash mask protected her face, and she was able to enjoy that too. Iris could definitely understand why Barry was always busy. If she could do this she would spend all day running like a maniac.

Too soon, it came to an end.

"We should start heading back. They'll wonder where we went." Barry said.

"I'm wondering where we went." Iris didn't recognized anything around her. They were on a deserted road surrounded by open land.

"Somewhere private." He said shyly.

_Is this it? Is he _finally _going to tell me he loves me?_

"Iris, I have something more I need to tell you."

"Ok." She gave him a nod of her head wanting to make sure he would work up the confidence to tell her. Even if she had gotten her hopes up before, she needed to believe that tonight would finally be the day that he would confess, and they would get together.

Barry moved his lips but no words came out.

"Barry, whatever you want to say, you don't have to be afraid to say it. I want to hear it."

"I love you. Not just as a friend, definitely not as a sister. I love you, Iris. I've wanted to tell you for years, but I could never get up the courage. You're beautiful, kind, forgiving, all the amazing things that people strive to be, and it's just who you are. You're perfect. You didn't need romantic love from a guy who could never reach your level of amazingness. You gave me no choice but to love you, just by being who you are." Barry vibrated his voice as if to distance himself from the words if they were rejected, but he held her even softening gaze.

She had waited for those words to leave his mouth since, well, her entire life. Her world revolved around her best friend, the man she loved.

"I love you to, Bear. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You are far more amazing than I am, and I'm not just referring to your super power, though that is totally amazing. I love you for you. I've just been waiting for you to tell me."

Barry closed the gap between them, and they sealed their words with the first kiss.


	57. Chapter 57

**Sorry guys, I'm inflicting more pain on Barry this weekend. Poor guy.**

**Prompt from Jeune Ecrivain. The Flash is injured in battle, and Iris nurses his wound to the best of her ability. Later, she finds Barry, who is either recovering in bed or on his feet but still visibly weak. Her concerned curiosity gets the better of her, and despite Barry's attempts to play it off, she insists on checking him out and finds the bandaging that she herself put on his injury.**

It wasn't even a metahuman. All of this drama was caused by a normal criminal. A boring criminal. Barry could just picture the smirk that would be on Oliver's face.

The day had started off normal enough. Barry was late to work, Captain Singh had gave him a patronizing remark about it, Joe, Eddie, and Barry had been called to a crime scene, but that was where the normalcy had ended.

When they arrived at the crime scene the body . . . there wasn't much of one. The remains were charred and cut into pieces. Joe gave him a questioning look. Barry knew that he was wondering if it was a metahuman. He knew he was afraid that it might be Caitlyn's metahuman fiancé.

Barry looked a little closer at the little pieces because it was hard to tell. Still, it didn't take him long to figure out that it was not a metahuman. "The burns are sporadic. There are several thin strips of burns. It's likely these were made by blowtorch."

Joe nodded at his son, relieved and disturbed that it was a human case.

~_~ line break ~_~

It took Barry a while to get the dental records back. He was worried about Joe and Iris. The man that had been killed was the son of Joe's old partner, Chyre, and Barry was pretty sure he knew who had killed him.

About ten years ago Joe and Chyre had arrested a man for killing his family, by burning them and chopping them up. Barry had been told that he escaped while he was still in his coma. Jeremiah Erving was the man's name.

Barry ran down to where Eddie and Joe stood discussing the case.

"Bear, you ok?" Joe asked concerned.

"What's going on, Allen?" Eddie questioned.

"Put a detail on Iris, and you be careful." Barry pointed at Joe.

Joe gave Barry his wide eyed, terrified look as he pushed Eddie to go set up the detail. When Eddie came back, Joe was still staring at his son.

"Jeremiah Erving."

Joe's eyes widened further if that was possible.

"What does he have to do with Iris?" Eddie asked, worry evident in his eyes as well.

"Chyre and I brought him in."

"I know that much." Eddie mumbled.

"Barry, does that mean . . . The dental records said . . ." Barry couldn't blame him for not being able to choke the words out.

He nodded. "It was Chris that was found in the alley."

Realization finally crossed Eddie's eyes. Normally Eddie was faster at connecting the dots, so Barry reckoned either he was hoping for different solution, or something else was occupying his thoughts.

An officer came running over. "We sent teams to her apartment and her work she wasn't there."

Beep, beep.

Barry's alert for Iris's blog posts rang. He pulled out his phone, and Joe leaned over his shoulder to read.

'North on 52nd street, left a mile, right two miles. Smells like metal. Help!'

"Go!" Joe nodded as Barry ran up to his office to get his suit with his super speed being disguised by the commotion. Searches being set up, teams being sent out, etc.

Barry followed the directions Iris gave him until he smelled something strong and metallic. He had to be in the right place. Metal doesn't usually smell this strong, but there was another scent that caught his attention. _Fire._ He kept accelerating as he searched for the exact spot where she was being kept. Smoke was rising from the leftmost building in the area. It took him less than half a second to get there and find her.

"Iris!" The Flash yelled, is vision obscured by the smoke.

"Look out!" She yelled back, but it was too late. Barry felt a searing pain in his abdomen. A sword or large knife of some sort had cut through his side. He couldn't think clearly due to the pain, but he managed to lash out against Erving before he could strike another blow. The Flash managed to knock the other man out, and immediately he ran to Iris. Three seconds later they were out of the now collapsing building.

Barry set her down, and they both gasped trying to drag in as much fresh air as they possibly could, occasionally choking.

Iris noticed that her side was covered in blood, _his _blood. After only a few minutes, Barry's strength failed, and he feel to the ground.

"Flash!" Iris exclaimed dropping to her knees next to him.

"I'll be fine. I heal fast." He groaned in pain as he spoke, and needless to say, Iris wasn't convinced.

"Take off your undershirt."

"Iris." Was Barry's weak last ditch attempt to stop her-something he had never been able to do after she had made up her mind.

"_Flash_."

"This is the tone that gives me another reason not to tell you who I am. You'd use my full name." Barry laughed, then groaned at the pain it caused him.

"My best friend, Barry, doesn't like his full name either." Iris made small talk as he sped changed out of his undershirt causing himself even more pain.

"I'm sure his name is just as bad as mine." Barry inwardly smirked.

Iris carefully wrapped the shirt around his still bleeding abdomen. He moaned again. They heard sirens in the distance heading toward them.

"You know I can't still be here when they arrive." The Flash reminded Iris.

"You know you shouldn't be moving." She retorted.

"I'll heal, but I can't wipe the cops' memories." She gave him a sad look, with a twinge of what he thought was longing, maybe for him to be able to stay with her.

"How will I know if you're alright?" Iris asked cautiously. She had known for a long time that she had feelings or the Flash that were almost equal to her feeling for Barry, and she was still worried that she might lose him. The cut was deep and would require surgery for a normal person. What if he didn't make it?

"I'll visit you tonight, I promise." He smiled sadly. "Same old place."

Iris frowned thinking of the last time they had been on that roof together. She had told him never to contact her again, and yet when she called for him, he had come. He had been willing to get seriously injured to save her even after she had pushed him away for beating up her ex-boyfriend after he had tried to get a task force against him.

"Ok." Her voice was small, and he knew what his best friend was thinking.

"I will never leave you in danger if there is something I can do to help you. There is nothing you could ever do to keep me from being there when you need me. I . . ." He had wanted to be Barry when he said it the first time, but he felt she needed to hear it now. "I love you."

He heard her sharp intake of breath and saw her small yet bright smile before he had to dash away. The police had arrived.

~_~ line break ~_~

Iris was sitting in the police station after recounting her story to everyone in the station. Everyone except Barry.

When she was done she went to look for her best friend. It wasn't like him to not show his face when she had just been in extreme danger. Usually he would have come rushing to her side to take care of her like the loveable best friend he is, but now he was nowhere to be seen.

She went up to his lab and found him, in a different shirt than he was wearing when she saw him this morning, sitting in his chair holding his side like he was in pain.

"Bear?" She got his attention and fixed him with a worried look.

He sighed in relief, but it was almost forced. "You're ok." He breathed.

"Yeah, what's wrong with you? What happened to your side?" That must be why he wasn't at the meeting downstairs.

"It's nothing. All that matters is that you're ok."

The words struck a familiar chord, but she thought no more of it as she moved closer to the man she knew she loved, and ignored the thoughts of the man that had just confessed his love to her.

"Barry, I know you better than this. What happened to your side?"

He didn't answer her so she stepped closer and pulled up the side of his shirt. His other shirt was wrapped around a wound on his abdomen, just as she had just wrapped up the Flash's identical wound.

"You are the Flash." She said simply. He nodded. "There are so many thoughts running through my head. So many questions that I don't know how to ask."

"You can ask me anything. You know that." He looked nervous.

"That can all wait. You love me?" Iris was just as nervous as he was.

"Yes. I've always loved you." Barry gave her a half smile half wince, and she moved closer to him.

"I love you too, Barry."


	58. Chapter 58

**Prompt from Jeune Ecrivain. The Flash is injured in battle, but this time, the injury is mainly on his head or face, and it's potentially serious enough that Iris has no choice but to take off his mask to examine it. Barry reluctantly agrees, but perhaps not before saying something cryptic like; "Just know . . . I only wanted to keep you safe," right before she unmasks him.**

Barry and Iris were just leaving the movie theater. They had done this a million times, but this time, Barry was nervous. It was their first real date. It had been three months since she and Eddie had broken up, and when the girl you love's ex-boyfriend comes up to and asks when you're finally going to ask her out, it's time to ask the girl out.

That had been a rather interesting conversation.

Eddie had walked into Barry's lab.

"Any progress on that dirt analysis thing?" Eddie had asked, he seemed almost awkward, and if there was one word that least described Eddie in Barry's mind, it would be awkward.

"No there won't be for about another hour."

"Okay, how about the blood work?"

"Eddie we didn't find any blood at the crime scene." Barry eyed him cautiously. "Anything else?" Barry took a sip of water hoping that it would make him feel less awkward.

"Yeah, one thing. _When_ _are_ _you_ _going_ _to_ _ask_ _Iris_ _out_?" Barry choked on his water.

"What?" He finally gasped out.

"Iris and I broke up three months ago because you two love each other, and it's really obvious. And yet . . ." Eddie trailed off knowing that Barry understood his meaning.

"I'm going to ask her when I finally work up the courage to ask her." He answered honestly.

"Why do I get the feeling that that has been your response for the last twenty five years?"

"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I couldn't have asked her out twenty five years ago, we were infants." Barry rambled, gradually getting quieter as he realized how weak an argument he had.

"Barry." Eddie fixed him with a look that Barry didn't completely understand, but he thought he got the main point fairly well. 'Just do it already.'

"I will ask her tonight." Barry said with a definitive tone.

"Good." There was a hint of sadness in his voice Eddie really had loved Iris. He had loved her enough to let her go, and he was frustrated that she didn't have the happiness he had let go for yet. Eddie knew that she would be happier with Barry.

So there they were. Barry and Iris started walking down the street with their arms linked in each other's. As friends, they had done this exact same thing a million times, but that was just it, they had both been thinking that they could only ever be just friends, but now . . . no one really knew what was going to happen. All Barry knew was that he loved Iris, and all Iris knew was she loved Barry and that if he hadn't asked her out when he did, _she_ would have had to ask.

It was almost midnight, and Barry was growing cautious. Everything had been to perfect.

_Riiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiing._

Iris stopped walking even though Barry tried to keep them going and ignore his phone.

"You need to get that Barry. It could be important." Iris understood what it meant to be dating someone on the police force. She knew that they would not be able to finish most of their dates, but she had hoped to finish their first.

"If I answer it, I'll have leave." Her heart soared at hearing how much he wanted to stay, but she knew she couldn't let him.

"I will be watching a movie in your apartment, waiting for you." She leaned up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "And I'll be eating all of your ice cream, so you might want to hurry." He felt her hesitate briefly, then she kissed him softly. "I'll see you later."

Barry answered his phone with a goofy smile on his face just before it would have gone to voicemail.

"Hello."

Caitlyn's hurried voice came on the phone. "Snart is back in town. Felicity's facial recognition software just picked him up on 32nd street. Go!"

He hung up the phone winced an apology to Iris and started walking in the other direction. As soon as he was around the corner he took off as fast as he could without setting himself totally on fire. He got to his suit, threw it on, and took off again.

"Where's he going guys?" He said into his coms unit.

"He seems to be headed towards your apartment building. Why would he be going there?" Caitlyn responded.

Barry's speed increased. "Iris is headed to my apartment right now. He would know about her blog."

He was right. When he found Captain Cold, he was in the process of tying up Iris.

"How nice of you to join us, Flash. Come to save your little blogger?" The man sneered.

"Let her go. I'm here. Your problem is with me, not her." The Flash pleaded.

"You know, I'd love to, but you see, she's leverage, and you don't give up leverage until you get what you want." Snart used the Flash's focus on Iris to make his first attack. He fired his cold gun at the Flash's face.

"Gaaaah!" Barry groaned. There were no words to describe the pain he currently felt. This was even worse than all the times he had fought with Tony combined, including the times when they were kids.

Iris tried to stand and make her way over to him, but Captain Cold pushed her back down, and with her hands and feet tied, he couldn't keep her balance or break her fall.

The Flash sped up just in time to avoid another shot, this one to the heart. Snart turned the gun to Iris, and automatically the Flash was in between them. Captain Cold shot at him again and hit him in the shoulder. The Flash would not allow him another opportunity, he grabbed the other man's right arm and broke it over his leg. He groaned from pain. After a few more hits, Snart knew that he would not win this time, and he took off in his getaway car. Barry was continually slowing due to the pain from Snart's first shot to his face. He crumpled to the ground, so he couldn't follow the escaping man.

Iris tried to make her way over to him, and when she finally succeeded he untied her hands. She lifted the Flash's head to try to get a look at the wound on his face.

"I'm going to need to take your mask off." She said matter-of-factly.

"Iris-"

"You're hurt, and you just saved me. Let me do something to help you."

Barry nodded slowly. "Just, please know that I only wanted to protect you from . . . all of this." His gesture encompassed the entire alley and all the frozen spots from where he had ran out of the path of Snart's cold gun.

Iris looked puzzled by his warning, but continued to lift his mask from his face. She started to hyperventilate.

"Oh, my gosh, Barry." Her fingers hovered just above his wound. It was bad. His skin had turned black from frostbite, and the rest of his face was covered in red lines branching out from the wound.

He was surprised by her lack reaction to his being the Flash, but, he supposed, it made sense considering her reaction to how bad his wound was.

"I heal fast, Iris. I just need to get to the lab." Iris nodded relieved to know one thing she could do for him.

It was a long slow walk to the lab, but they walked and eventually got there. When they got inside Caitlyn started yelling at him for not responding to her on com. Then she turned around and saw his face.

"Barry!" She exclaimed in surprise. She took him into the medical station, and Iris tried not to wince as he laid down on that all too familiar table.

After a few hours, Barry's face was starting to heal pretty well.

"As long as you don't let anyone else see you like that, Barry, you guys can go home." Caitlyn said.

It was now about four in the morning, but Iris and Barry were both wide awake.

"I guess we can go watch that movie and pop some popcorn." Iris suggested.

"What, you don't want ice cream anymore?"

Iris glared at him. "Don't even."

Barry leaned down to kiss her. "Popcorn it is."


	59. Chapter 59

**The Flash returns soon, and I am counting down the days.**

**Prompt from Jeune Ecrivain. Iris confides in the Flash about Barry's confession from 1x09 and her own newly conflicted feelings. By this time. She has either just broken up with Eddie and hasn't told Barry as Barry yet, or she is leaning heavily in that direction. The only thing that's holding her back, though, is the nagging question: if Barry had lied about his feelings for so long, what else could he be hiding? She essentially says that if she could be assured that there were no more big secrets between them, then virtually all her hesitation would be dispelled. That's enough to prompt Barry to reveal himself.**

Iris sat alone in Jitters. She had just finished closing and cleaning up. She wasn't quite sure whether or not to go through with her plan. Iris really wanted to talk to the Flash, but she had pushed him away.

But, he would still come, wouldn't he?

She sat down at a table and opened her laptop. Her blog, long forgotten devoid of the Flash, popped up on her screen. It was time to let the Flash in again, she had to stop pushing people away.

Her mind ran through everyone she had pushed away. Friends from high school, co-workers, the Flash, Barry, Eddie, even her father. She hadn't told her dad about Barry's confession or breaking up with Eddie, but she suspected he knew. He always knew when anything was wrong in her life, but still, she pushed him away too.

Maybe, maybe the Flash would understand? She knew there was a chance that he wouldn't forgive her since she had completely ignored his reason for attacking Eddie and had told him to stay away from her, but Iris also remembered that he had told her that there were no other girls, so maybe he was as lonely as she felt. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that he would at least come and talk to her.

She began to type. One draft, two drafts, three drafts, four. Why was this so hard? Eventually she just decided that she needed to talk to him in person. _Keep it_ _simple_ she thought.

'Will you meet me, Ralph?' She hit send and waited for the familiar breeze to flow through the doors and swoop her up to the roof. It didn't take long.

Her feet landed on the roof, and she saw the Flash walking along the edge of the roof.

"That's the first time you've actually called me Ralph." Was all he said.

"I thought it was the best way. You could be sure you knew who I was talking about, it wasn't as dangerous as calling you Flash, and I know it doesn't put you in any danger because it's not you're real name." The Flash smiled and laughed.

"Yeah. Right on all three accounts." Barry was just relieved about the second one.

"I wanted to apologize for how I reacted when-"

"There isn't a reason for you to apologize, Iris. You had no reason to believe me. I've never given you a reason to trust me." The Flash appeared right in front of her to look into her eyes. Iris was definitely relieved, but she still felt the need to apologize.

"No reason expect who you are. You've saved my life multiple times. You've saved people that I don't think you've ever actually met. I've gotten reports of you doing people's jobs when they needed to be other places." Iris saw a confused look cross his face. "A man's wife was going to have a baby any minute and he was being forced to go paint an entire building before he could go to the hospital or have a kid when their family had no income, but a red blur passed him, and suddenly his job was done, and he was free to go to the hospital to be with his wife." A shocked look crossed his face. He remembered doing that, but he didn't know what was going on in the man's life. Iris recognized what the look meant, and her heart and guilt both soared. "That was the same day that there was a bank robbery in which everyone suddenly hated each other for no reason, the same day you turned on a man who was trying to arrest you for existing. And I didn't believe you when you said you only attacked him because you were affected by another metahuman."

Barry shrugged. He still didn't think she had anything to apologize for. "You still don't have to apologize for protecting your boyfriend."

Iris smiled. How did she ever doubt that he would forgive her?

They were silent for a few minutes, both just relaxing in each other's presence. Iris was amazed at how natural it felt to be with him. It was like being with Barry before his confession.

"What's going on, Iris?" The Flash asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem confused and upset." He seemed concerned about her, and Iris cursed her fluttering heart. The last thing she needed was to complicate matters even further.

She sighed heavily. "Are we friends?"

"If you want us to be." Barry was a little surprised by the question.

Iris smiled. "A yes then."

"But that's still not what's going on." _Why did he have to be so perceptive?_

"No, it's not." She hesitated. "I broke up with Eddie because . . ." Barry had a feeling that Iris wouldn't be all that happy that it was him hearing this. She probably had a reason for not telling him as Barry. He was afraid that she'd feel betrayed.

Iris saw him tense up but continued anyway. "Since I was about three years old I have had a crush on my best friend. When I was about twelve I realized that it wasn't just a crush. I loved him. I was about nineteen when I decided that he probably didn't feel the same way, and from then on I tried to distance myself from my feelings. I referred to him as my brother, I tried to make plans with other people, but the second Barry wanted to hang out or talk or _anything_ I would drop everything and go to him. Then I met Eddie, and I thought . . . I thought I could feel the same way about him. On Christmas Eve, Barry told me that loved me, that he had loved me since before he knew what it meant to love someone, and I so want to be with him, but-" Iris stopped.

She had tears running down her face, so Barry stopped pacing around the roof and pulled her into his arms. Iris was shocked, the only time he had ever touched her was whenever he carried her to the roof and that wasn't even long enough to feel his heartbeat. Now, as she cried, he held her close and wiped the tears off her cheeks. His heart beat as quickly as his feet on the cement. He was warm, and his arms were comfortable. She could stay wrapped in them forever. Her tears slowed and eventually stopped.

"Barry lied to me about how he felt for, who knows how long, and I ever noticed. I can't feel comfortable in a relationship if I don't know how many other secrets he was keeping from me."

Iris felt the vibrating in his throat stop.

"Just one." It was Barry voice coming out of the Flash's mouth. She pulled back from his arms and pulled his mask away from his face.

"Can you promise me that this is the last one?" Iris asked. She tried to hold back the fresh wave tears that threatened to spill, but they broke away from her eyes.

He wiped away a few of her tears. "Yes." He pulled her back into his arms, and she did stay there forever.


	60. Chapter 60

**Prompt from Chooch 77. Follow up to chapter 36 with Iris being in the stadium for some reason when Barry faces down the Reverse Flash.**

Iris sat in an empty stadium. Her dad used to bring her and Barry here, and besides Barry's arms, this was the place she felt most comfortable. She had so many fond memories of this place. The first fall that Barry was staying with them, and he and Joe had been fighting, but Iris had begged Barry to stop fighting for one day when Joe told them they were going to go to game. He had been true to his word. Joe and Barry didn't fight that day, or even that week. She knew there had been squabbles even recently, but that game day had been a tipping point in what she called the WestAllen family.

Now here she was. She was dating her best friend. Her best friend was a masked superhero. Iris's ex-boyfriend was hunting that best friend/ boyfriend/ masked superhero. She couldn't think of a time in her life where everything had been so complicated, but she also couldn't think of a time where she had been so happy. Iris was in the best relationship she'd ever had, given she'd only ever been in two, but this was with a man she had fallen in love with twice. A man who had loved her his whole life. What more could a girl ask for?

Iris smiled until she saw two blurs blow through the stadium. At first she was confused thinking; why are there two of them? But then she was struck to the deepest part of her heart with fear. The yellow and red blurs were fighting and it looked exactly like what Barry had described when he was eleven.

Barry. How was Barry taking this? _Obviously_ _not_ _very_ _well_, she thought when they slowed. Barry was fighting the man in yellow alone and without his suit or mask.

"Not fast enough, Flash." The man in yellow taunted with his voice vibrated, and it sounded almost familiar to Iris, but she just couldn't place it. Just when she thought she was getting good at picking out disguised voices. (She may or may not have asked Barry to make his voice different frequencies to test how well she could pick out his real voice.)

Yellow took off running through the seats with Barry farther behind than he hoped, but close enough to continue fighting as they ran. Iris didn't know what to do, but she was glued in place watching the fight so she stayed in place. The Reverse Flash didn't notice her, but she had a feeling that Barry had.

Barry and Yellow made their way back down to the field, and he threw Barry to the ground again. He grunted as the man in yellow kicked him, ran off, and repeated several times. Iris stood to run to Barry. She could not just sit back and watch the most important man in her life be beaten mercilessly, especially by the man who killed his mother.

"Who are you?" Barry shouted at the other man.

"You know who I am, Barry." The yellow suited man started beating him again, and Barry was once again thrown down to the ground.

"I don't know who you are!" Barry half stood half leaned on the ground. Iris could see his strength failing him, and she was incapable of moving due to her worry for her friend's wellbeing.

"But you do, Barry. We've been at this a long time, you and I, but I'm always one step ahead." The retched man continued to disguise his voice. Iris was aching to know whose butt she needed to kick, no decimate.

Barry threw a punch but the Reverse Flash dodged it easily, and returned it with his own before running in the other direction. He grabbed Barry by his shirt and threw him to the ground easily, this time holding him down when he came back around to Barry.

"It is your destiny to lose to me, Flash. Just as it was your mother's destiny to die that night." The man in yellow who had haunted Barry all his life ran off into the night before Barry could even rise to his feet.

Iris felt something for the first time in her life, blood lust. She wanted to see her boyfriend's tormentor hurt, and she wanted to be the one to do it. No one, _no one_ messed with her Barry and got away with it.

Her legs were finally able to move, and she immediately rushed to where Barry lie bleeding on the ground. She fell to her knees at his side where she saw his wounds already starting to close.

"Iris?" He checked her over looking for injuries the man in yellow didn't have a chance to inflict. His hand rested on her face, cupping her cheek, when he had assured himself that she was okay.

She gave a sigh of relief and adoration. This was her ever selfless Barry. He had just been beaten by his mother's killer, and yet his first instinct was to make sure Iris was unhurt.

"Barry, he didn't even come near me." She tilted her head and fake scolded him.

"But he's threatened your life before." Barry mumbled under his breath. Iris didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about but knew better than to ask. He would tell her if she needed to know, and he would always protect her.

"I need you to promise me something, and you're not going to like it."

Barry looked her directly in the eyes. "I love you. If it's you asking I'll do it."

The smile on her face and the one in her heart grew painfully large at his words and the sincerity in his voice.

"I know I can't ask you to drop this chase. That's not fair to you, you mother or your father, but I need you to promise me that you will not go after him alone, especially unarmed." Iris pleaded with him.

He nodded and puller her head down to his level. The promise he made to her that night was sealed with a sweet and tender kiss.


	61. Chapter 61

**This one is kind of all over the place, but I had fun.**

**Prompt from Guest. Follow up to chapter thirty nine where the rest of the world reacts to Barry being the Flash.**

The tv in the police station showed Barry in the Flash suit. It must be a trick, the majority of the officers thought.

How could their little impossible seeking lab assistant be a superhero? It just wasn't possible.

There was a brief moment of silence while everyone tried to process what they had just seen, and then it erupted into chaos. People were talking over each other, all of them in shock. Everyone wanted to know who had already known about it and the list was short, but they all assumed that Joe and Iris already knew. How could they not? They were the only family the boy really had, at least as far as the cops were concerned, they didn't count the man who they considered to be a vile murderer that could never have raised as sweet a kid as Barry. And, let's face it, the kid was madly in love with Iris, and you couldn't see them together for thirty seconds and not realize how crazy they were her each other, unless you were Barry or Iris.

Captain Singh sat in his office watching the live news reel. His most promising CSI had been running through the city in a mask saving lives and catching as many criminals as any of his normal officers.

Could he put Barry in the field or would it be better if the department just ignored this development? Joe would try to fight it, he knew, but ultimately he'd let Barry choose. Besides, Barry had been in the field numerous times, and he probably wouldn't stop going out to save people, so it might be a good thing. He would give the choice to Barry, and make sure that he understood that he would still have to work in the lab. He was the best CSI the department had, and even though Singh had threatened to fire him several times, they couldn't afford to lose his scientific expertise.

Maria Lee had rarely been happier. She had just discovered the identity of the man that had saved her daughter from a fire in their building. She now had someone to thank for saving her and her daughter from the worst fate imaginable to the young single mother. Maria didn't have much to give except a talent of baking, but she knew that the Flash, Barry Allen, expected no gratitude, so he would be grateful for anything she gave him.

She would give him the world if she could because he had given her back her world.

Iris remained at Barry's side for hours. Her phone had been beeping like crazy with alerts from her blog:

'Did you see the news?'

'I saw the Flash's face?'

'Do you know the guy's name?'

'The Flash is hot!'

'Was that really Barry Allen?'

'What do you think he'll do now that everyone knows his identity?'

'Are you telling me I went to high school with the Flash?!'

'Do you think he'll be a more cooperative interview now?'

'What do you think the police will do about him?'

'Do you think I could get his number?'

'Mad scientist boy is the Flash!?'

'Do you think he's in danger because of this?'

'Tell him my number is 078-544-0018, and I'm a tall blonde.'

'I live in apartment 14D of the Galahad building. Come save me anytime."

The posts were endless. Iris hadn't had this many posts since she started this blog. She kept putting numbers in Barry's phone from all the girls posting their phone numbers. It hurt to give Barry numbers of girls who didn't even know him, but he didn't like her that way, and she wanted him to find someone, even if it could never be her. Even if it hurt her so much she died inside.

"Iris, please stop putting those in my phone." Barry turned his puppy dog eyes on her and she tried not to show how much her heart melted.

"Why not, Barry? One of them could be the one to make you happier than anyone else. Are you really not going to try?"

"None of them are the one for me. I could never really love any of them." The sincerity and, was it longing, in his eyes made her hopeful for a second before she realized how ridiculous she was being. He could only ever see her as a sister.

"How could you possibly know that Barry? You haven't met any of them. One of them might be the lucky girl that steals your heart."

"No, my heart was stolen a long time ago. I haven't held it in a long time."

"Oh, really, cause you never told me, your best friend. So, who is this girl?" Iris could already feel jealousy rising up inside her.

"You actually know her really well, she has a blog too, she's the nicest person you'll ever meet, and she's beautiful and just all around perfect." Barry turned more moony eyed than he usually did around Iris.

"So, who is she?" Iris said with her eyes downcast.

Barry had really hoped she wouldn't push for a name. He didn't want to lose her. He needed her. "C'mere." Barry beckoned her closer to him.

"Oh, it's a secret huh?" Iris said as playfully as she could when she was about to learn the name of the woman who had taken her love's heart. She put her ear to his lips, but his hand cupped her face and turned her head. Before she could understand what was going on, his lips were on hers. It took her a second to get over her shock, but when she did, she deepened the kiss. Barry mentally sighed with relief. Not only would he not be losing his best friend, it seemed he would also be allowed to able kiss her many more times.


	62. Chapter 62

**I haven't had a chance to watch the new episode yet, but I don't really mind spoilers.**

**Prompt from Big Fan. Iris turns up at Star Labs during the fight between Flash and the reverse Flash.**

Barry ran as fast as he could to where Joe and Eddie were fighting the Reverse Flash. He grabbed the man and forced him away, bringing him to STAR Labs. Together they ran up the building. They forced their way through the glass sending shards everywhere, a few of them hitting Barry himself. The two speedsters continued their trip and down the STAR Labs building.

Flash flew through the air and landed on a car windshield. "Ahhhh!" More glass shards dug into his back. That moment is when he saw Iris and began to pray that no one else would. Especially the man in yellow who had already threatened her life.

Iris watched as the Flash, who had once tried to kill her boyfriend, fought against the man who had just tried to kill her boyfriend _and her father_ and who, she assumed, had probably killed her best friend's mother.

She winced as the Flash was thrown into a car. Iris noticed Caitlyn and Cisco out of the corner of her eye. They were also watching the fight.

_Had they been helping the Flash? If so, had Barry known who he was too? Was that why he was dropping hints about the Flash not being the Flash anymore on the day of the power outage?_ Too many questions swirled inside Iris's head, but one stood out the most in her mind. _Was the Flash telling the truth when he denied being in control of his mind when he attacked Eddie? He had been a hero in every other instance. _She justified. Now he was going after a criminal who only he was on the same playing field as.

The man in yellow turned toward where Caitlyn and Cisco were standing and ran towards them. The Flash followed, seemingly determined not to let the yellow man hurt them, or even get close to them. Briefly Iris wondered if he would still protect her like that even after her cold unforgiving words the last time they had seen each other, before mentally chastising herself. _What in the Flash's character would even hint to him holding a grudge, and especially refraining from saving someone's life because if it?_ She needed to have more faith.

She watched as the Flash and the man in yellow fought at super speed. Iris could hardly tell what was happening, but she could tell that the Flash wasn't doing so well. He was thrown to the ground, and by the time he got back up the yellow suited man had thrown him a few yard away again. The Flash called out in pain as the Reverse Flash appeared to break his arm. The other man continued to attack the Flash. He tried to fight back, but the other man was proving to be too strong for him to beat.

"Barry!" Caitlyn called out just barely loud enough for Iris to hear.

_No, Barry isn't the Flash. He would have told me. He tells me everything. Except for the fact he's been in love with me for most of our lives. _She thought.

Then something more impossible than two men moving at the speed of sound happened. The man in yellow pulled off the Flash's mask. Iris could no longer deny it. Barry Allen was the Flash. The Flash was Barry Allen. They were one and the same. Barry was thrown down, and his mother's murderer stood over him, about to strike.

Iris hadn't noticed the man who had come up behind Barry, and it appeared that no one else had either. A stream of fire blew barely a foot above Barry's head and directly into the man in yellow. He was thrown back from the flame.

Barry looked over at the flaming metahuman. He looked like a man who had been living on the streets for a long time, but all Iris could think of was how grateful she was that he had saved her Barry. Then she looked at Caitlyn, who had come to her asking about the flaming meta, and she realized that Caitlyn knew the man. _Ronnie, that must be Ronnie_. That was the only explanation Iris could think of to explain the way Caitlyn looked at him.

Yellow stood up slowly like he was in pain, but Barry was in too bad of a condition to stand against him. He looked over at Iris worriedly, praying, pleading with any deity that would listen, that he would not notice Iris.

"Our race is not yet done, see you soon, Flash." The vibrating effect used on his voice made it sound dark and twisted, where when Barry vibrated his voice it sounded just as light as Barry was. It was like Barry was joking around when he disguised his voice.

The man in yellow ran away from the group, but Iris knew that he would be back, and soon, just as he promised.

Cisco, Caitlyn, and Iris all ran towards Barry. This was the first time either of them noticed Iris. Cisco and Iris lifted Barry to his feet, while Caitlyn continued on to Ronnie. No one could blame her. This was her dead fiancé.

Iris could barely hear the words that must have broken the other woman's heart. "Don't look for me again." He faced her then lit up and flew away from the woman he had once, and maybe still, loved and off into the night sky as Caitlyn watched with broken eyes.

Barry turned to face her.

"What are you doing here, Iris? You could have been hurt." Barry looked at her with both relief and sadness in his eyes.

"I came to talk to you." She looked him in the eye and willed him to understand what she wanted to say but didn't have the words to do so.

Unfortunately all he understood was that what she needed to say needed to be said in private. He guided her away from the others, leaving Cisco to take care of Caitlyn.

They stood in awkward silence for several minutes, and Barry couldn't help but feel even more heartbroken than he had earlier that day. Before his confession, silence had always been comfortable and companionable, but now the best way to describe it truly was awkward.

Iris shivered. It may not get very cold here, but it was colder than usual. Barry put his hands on her arms and vibrated moving his hands up and down her arms. When he pulled his hands away she was warm and a smile appeared on her face. Barry was thrilled that he could still get her to smile, maybe there was hope for them yet.

Iris inhaled deeply, sooner or later she would have to say something, she desperately wanted it to be sooner, but the words still weren't coming.

"Barry, you misunderstood my silence earlier." She began.

"What do you mean?" He shook his head, refusing to get his hopes up.

"You took my silence as letting you go and not returning your feelings, but that's not what it was. I was just in shock, ok?" Despite his attempts to quell it, his hope was rising. "I love you too, Bear." There it was. His heart swelled in his chest. "I thought that only loved me like a best friend or a sister, so that's how I treated you. I thought it would help. Then I started dating Eddie thinking that would help, and I really did like him. It's just-nothing was the same. I've always loved _you._ And hearing that you love me too, I was shocked, and if you'd have stayed around for just a few minutes longer, you would have seen how happy I was." Iris was smiling like crazy while Barry just stared at her. Her smile lessened into as she became extremely nervous. "Say something?"

Barry opened his mouth to speak, but apparently it was becoming normal for no words to tumble out of their mouths, so instead he stepped closer to her and pull her in for a kiss.

It was worth the nearly twenty five year wait.


	63. Chapter 63

**Prompt from Guinea Pig Ninja. Song fic. Heart Break Girl by Five Seconds of Summer. (Not mine.)**

**So apparently I'm not allowed to have song lyrics written in this, which I think is the dumbest rule ever because it's basically free advertising for artists, but my account has been threatened so I'm changing it because the creators of this website and many artists who probably don't read this are freaks. These lyrics will be posted in my profile until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**By the way I love guinea pigs, but they're the only animal that I'm allergic to. How sad is that? Also totally random and unimportant, but with no further ado . . . **

_You call me up,  
>to<br>'Cause I'm just a sucker for anything that you do._

Barry grabbed his phone within seconds of the first ring. It was Iris again. He loved hearing her voice, but lately her bright melodic voice had taken on a sad tune. She and Eddie had broken up. Iris hadn't told him why yet, but she would tell as soon as she thought it would help her.

"Hey, Iris." He spoke delicately.

"That's what he used to call me." She sobbed.

_She's going to be giving herself a lot more grief when she realizes what she just said. _He had never seen Iris act this . . . girly. Usually she was tougher than him, and he was getting really worried. It was horrible, but he found himself choking down laughter, but also sobs of his own. He had spent most of his life trying to make sure she had no reason to cry, even if it caused him pain, but now she was hurting and he didn't know how to help. He knew how he _wanted_ to help.

"I was walking past Big Belly Burger, and . . . and I saw him with someone else. He's already over me, Bear. How does he do that? Why does he do that?" With each word, sniffle, and sob his heart broke on even further on her behalf.

This had happened three times a day, every day in the two weeks since the break-up. This was the first time he had been on a date though at least that Barry had heard of.

"It'll get easier in time, it always does." Barry assured.

_And when the phone call finally ends,  
>to<br>And we're going in circles again and again_

"Thanks for being there for me. You are the best friend ever. I love you."

"Love ya too, Iris. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay." _Not really the way I'd like to tell you I love you._ He thought. _Not really the way I'd like to hear you say it either._ _  
><em> 

_I dedicate this song to you,  
>to<br>That I'm your cure, heartbreak girl?_

He lie in bed thinking about how she could possibly not realize how he felt. The only thing more obvious than how he acted around her already, would be telling her. No matter how many times he had tried to tell her, it just wasn't the right time or he couldn't think of the right words. Maybe he shouldn't worry about the details being right. Maybe he just had to worry about whether or not the message was right. And it was. He loved her with every fiber of his being whether had the courage to do anything about it or not.

Barry wondered if maybe knowing how he felt would help her get over Eddie. If he could hold her in his arms in a non-platonic circumstance, maybe she could feel the same way he did?

_I bite my tongue but I wanna scream out  
>to<br>He treats you so bad and I'm so good to you it's not fair._

The whole thing is so insane. One, _possibly_ two things were in the way of what could be the greatest relationship of all time. One, Barry lacked the guts to tell her how he felt, and for that matter, who he was. Two, Iris might not feel the same way, might never feel the same way.

_And when the phone call finally ends  
>to<br>And I'm stuck in the friend zone again and again,_

The next morning was very similar to the night before. He called Iris to check in on her, and of course she was upset still. He couldn't blame her, she had cared enough about the man to move in with him.

"It's just nice to hear your voice and know that I still have you as a friend." She told him.

"Do you want me to come over?" Barry knew she preferred talking to people face to face.

"Mhmmm."

"I'll be right there." Barry had a chance to force himself to spill secrets, and he took it. A second later he was at his best friend's door.

_I dedicate this song to you,  
>to<br>That I'm your cure, heartbreak girl?_

"Were you outside while you were talking to me?" Barry was glad to see that smile that just said, _seriously?_ It was one of his favorite Iris expressions.

"No." He said simply.

"Then, how did you get here so fast?" Barry reached up to wipe a few tears away from her eyes, and she leaned into his touch.

"I ran." He smiled.

"You live ten minutes away. There is no way you ran all the way here that fast."

"You're saying that?" Barry smiled knowingly, and Iris's eyes filled with realization and shock.

"You're the Flash." She stared at him, heartbreak set aside. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Your Dad would go Floyd Mayweather on me." **(Response suggested by Fan.) ** Barry laughed in an attempt to make her give him that award winning smile again. She did not disappoint.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" She asked.

"I-I love you." This time the smile reached her eyes.

_I know someday it's gonna happen  
>to<br>That you belong with me instead,_

"Eddie broke up with me because he knew I had stronger feelings for someone else. For you." Iris told him. "I love you too, Bear."

He pulled her into his arms to comfort her, but he knew she wasn't ready to start another relationship quite yet, and he had waited twenty years, he could wait a little longer, especially with the new hope this day had brought him.

**This newest episode killed me. It had my favorite Eddie moment ever and completely decimated my feels. Barry's moving back in with Joe!**


	64. Chapter 64

**Prompt from Guest. Barry sleep walks or runs without his suit, and Iris finds him.**

Iris was getting tired of having almost all of the night shifts. Who gets coffee at midnight on a Wednesday, anyway? She preferred to be sleeping at this point, not staying up to help other people stay up. It may be the twenty first century, but people still need sleep to live or function like a real person, right?

She was walking down the street when she felt an irregular breeze blow right past her. It was preceded by a flash of yellow lightning. Iris wasn't aware of any trouble going on in Central City right now, so he must just be training or something. But why did she have an uneasy feeling in her stomach?

He ran past her again, and she felt the uneasy feeling grew. Something was off. Something was about to happen. Something that would change a big part of her life. _Where was this all coming from? _ This didn't really sound like her. Maybe she was even more tired than she thought. Iris wasn't sure how she was even going to get home in this state.

Or she could stop her personal superhero on his next lap.

"Flash!" She shouted as he ran past again. He ran past then doubled back.

The Flash seemed off. Usually he would just pick her up in his arms still vibrating to disguise himself. Iris noticed something weird, his body wasn't red. He wasn't wearing his suit, her tired mind finally realized. There was another thing, his eyes were glazed over, kind of like Barry whenever he sleep walked. **(What is the past tense of sleep walking?)**

She allowed her mind to wander. Barry sleep walking every night his first week after his mom died, and he moved in with her and Joe. He always got so embarrassed whenever someone mentioned it. His embarrassed smile was so focused.

The Flash started moving again, and she reached out to grab his arm. The vibration in her hand made her whole body shake.

How do you wake someone up when they sleep through your voice and are already shaking?

"Flash, can you hear me?" He gave no response to her. "Can you wake up?" Still no result. She shook him, pinched him as well as she could with him vibrating, and even slapped him. For a superhero on crime's timetable, he was a really deep sleeper.

Iris had an idea. It was a little scary, but something she had wanted to do for a while now. She pulled him closer to her and kissed him. Kissing someone while they are vibrating feels indescribably weird. A kiss had never seemed hard to her, but with her face being stationary, and his moving close to the speed of sound, it was kind of hard. Luckily it only lasted a few seconds before he woke up. That kiss felt . . . right.

Barry was surprised. He had just woken up kissing Iris. Not to mention he was now on the street near Jitters when he knew he had gone to sleep in his room.

Iris pulled out of the kiss, knowing the Flash would be confused. Now she was confused.

She knew already he was tall. Iris had assumed he'd be handsome. The small glimpses she had gotten of his eyes had made every good dream better. All details that were similar to one other person she knew. But she had never heard his voice, and this must be why.

"Barry?"

"Hi, Iris. Did I sleep walk again? Why were we kissing? Don't get me wrong, you know how I feel about you . . ." Barry continued to babble while Iris stared at him in shock.

"You slept _ran_, Barry_._ I couldn't wake you up, so I . . . so I kissed you, and that finally woke you up."

"Oh, crap." He breathed out shakily. "How much trouble am I in with you?"

"What do you mean with me?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Joe's going to kill me when he finds out that you know. We both agreed that it'd be safer for you if you didn't know. I'm so sorry. Iris, I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to make sure you could live without having to constantly look behind you for a dangerous metahuman that wanted to get to me through those I care about."

"So, at Christmas, all that stuff about not wanting to keep anymore secrets from me, that was all a lie. Do you really even love me, or was that just a way to hide the real reason you've been acting strangely ever since you came out of your coma?"

Barry winced. "I love you, Iris, I always have and nothing will change that. I didn't want to keep any more secrets from you, but I couldn't tell you that I was the Flash, so I told you my non-life threatening secret. That way there was at least one secret less between us."

Iris didn't know how to react. She needed Barry. She always needed Barry. But, this was too much, and her mind kept going back to the kiss they just shared.

"Don't take this as me letting you off the hook." Iris commanded as she stepped closer to him.

"What?" Was all Barry had a chance to say before Iris's lips crashed onto his again.

He deepened the kiss, and he felt her smile against his lips before she pulled away again.

"Can you carry me home? I'm really tired." She finally remembered why she had stopped him in the first place. Honestly, she was surprised she still had enough energy to remain standing. Not to mention how dizzy that kiss had just left her.

She felt herself being lifted into her best friend's arms.

"Anything you ever need, Iris." He said as he took off running toward Joe's and their home where Iris had moved back in a few months ago.

He carried her to her bedroom and set her legs on the floor.

"Good night, Iris."

"Will you still be home when I wake up?" Iris asked quietly.

"I hope so. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight Bear."

Barry leaned down to kiss her forehead and left the room. His heart was lighter than it had ever been before.


	65. Chapter 65

**Pink Hollow I'm putting your Arrow prompt in my story Every Night. It'll probably be up in the next day or so.**

**I will try my best to make you cry. **

**Prompt from Soul Sear. Barry dies protecting Iris. **

Iris wasn't sure what she could do. Eddie was trying his best to comfort her, but there was nothing he could do. He would never be able to do anything to fix this.

_He _had been . . . gone for three weeks, and the pain had only gotten worse. She had never been away from him this long. Even when he was away for college they talked on the phone almost every night, and he visited every weekend that he could, and she drove up there whenever she had the chance. Even when he was in his coma she visited him every day. She could hold his hand and talk to him even if he couldn't talk back. He was always there, but now . . . all she had now was a cold stone with his name on it.

~_~ Three weeks earlier ~_~

Barry walked into the precinct just like he would any other day: late.

"Allen!" Captain Singh shouted.

"Sorry." Barry winced. "My alarm didn't go off." _Because I accidently ran into it and broke it into a million pieces at the speed of sound last night._ He mentally added.

"Murder on Fifty Fourth Street. C'mon Allen." Eddie said walking by.

"I'll be right there. I just need to grab some evidence bags . . . and you're already gone. OK." Barry walked up to his lab, grabbed his stuff, and headed to Fifty Fourth Street.

"You eaten today Bear?" Joe asked when he arrived.

"That bad, huh?" Barry took another step and saw it.

The body was frozen with its face contorted into a scream and scorch marks surrounded it.

"Could this be Snart and Rory?" Eddie asked. "They escaped in transit."

"No, there guns cancel each other out, and the guns were destroyed. The fire didn't melt the ice." Barry explained.

"So you're telling me that we're dealing with someone who can produce fire proof ice?" Joe asked. His list of things that should be impossible but aren't was growing every day, and he did not like it.

"Yeah."

"Hey, I'm rather new to all of this, are you saying it's a metahuman? Should we be like consulting the Flash or something?" Eddie asked.

Barry and Joe stared at him. He had saved Barry's life as the Flash, but asking for his help was a big step for the man.

"He came to save one life and saved a lot of people. I think he told Iris the truth when he said he attacked me because he was affected by another metahuman." Eddie watched them to judge their reactions. He was confused by Barry's little smirk, but Joe just nodded his head.

"We are thinking it's a meta, but I think the Flash is already working on it. He's fairly good at knowing when metahumans are causing trouble." Joe told Eddie.

Barry scraped a sample of the ice and gasped quietly in pain. He barely touched it and got frostbite.

"Don't touch the body." Barry told them as Eddie squatted by Barry. He showed them his finger that had come in contact with the ice.

"That happened from brief contact. No wonder this guy was screaming."

"I'm going to take this to STAR Labs, see if they can help me make sense of this one."

The ice metahuman's DNA was already in the Central City criminal database, so finding her identity wasn't difficult. Finding her location was a different story. Even with the facial recognition software Felicity had given them, it took a long time.

"Barry, Barry, come here." Caitlyn called.

Barry ran over.

"Marie Johnson's at Jitters. So is Iris."

"I think you mean Elsa." Cisco said.

"No, Cisco, I really don't."

"Ice Queen?"

"No."

He ran as fast as he could, ignoring Cisco, and reached Jitters in record time, even for him. Eddie, Iris, and the ice meta were the only ones in the coffee shop.

"On the floor, now." Marie commanded.

Barry ran directly in front of Iris.

"Oh, look who decided to join the party. The scarlet speedster." Barry ran towards her and tried to hit her, but where his fist made contact with her face his hand froze. He tried to vibrate quickly enough to melt it, but he couldn't.

In the time it took him to figure out it was impossible to free himself of the ice, Johnson had turned toward Iris.

"Rather protective aren't you, Flash." Her smile was sickly sweet with an evil glint in her eyes.

She blasted ice toward Iris. Barry knew automatically there was no way his was going to be able to move Iris in time. The ice travelled too quickly.

"Gah!" He exclaimed as the ice hit him in the back, but none of it reached Iris and Eddie had just enough time to draw his weapon and fire before she could prepare another icy explosion.

The metahuman fell to the ground dead, but Barry was beginning to realize that Johnson would not be the only metahuman to die that night.

He tried to vibrate, but the thick layer of ice still covered him, and he could feel his power fading. Barry was growing weak. He fell to the ground with a clunk, and the ice still did not even crack.

Iris fell to her knees beside him. "How do we help you? Can we take you to a hospital? Do you have your own medical place or-or something?"

Barry stayed silent he knew he did not have the speed left in him to disguise his voice. He did not want her to find out this way. He didn't want anything to happen this way, but now it was unavoidable.

Silent tears started running down her cheeks. "There's nothing we can do is there?" Iris realized.

He shook his head to the best of his ability and looked toward Eddie who was standing a few feet away unable to accept the situation in front of him.

"Can you talk?" She looked down at him. "You can't vibrate your voice, and you still don't want me to know who you are." She guessed. She always could read him.

He moved his a hair up and down. He looked over to Eddie again and tried to motion him over with his eyes. Eddie seemed to get the message and knelt by his girlfriend to offer a little comfort. Her tears melted bits of the ice as they fell, but it was too little too late.

Barry's breathing became even more labored. "I'm sorry, Iris." He said with his normal voice.

"No!" Iris yelled. Barry could tell Eddie didn't recognize his voice, he hadn't really expected him to. He and Iris had known each other forever, and Eddie hadn't known him very well or very long.

Iris's sobs grew. "No!"

Eddie finally understood, and became motionless. He had suggested getting help from the Flash. This was his fault.

"No one's fault." Barry spoke with difficulty. He directed the words at both of them.

Iris grabbed at his hand even though it was still covered in metahuman ice.

She turned to Eddie. "Leave. I need to be alone with him."

Eddie drew in a shaky breath. He knew he would lose Iris to Barry, but he never thought and definitely never hoped that it would be on his death bed. The look in Barry's eyes told him to continue to be there for her. Ever the loyal friend, Barry wanted someone to be there for her when he couldn't be. He would do that even if Iris was now realizing that how she felt about Eddie wasn't really love.

She needed a friend, and Barry swore to himself that he would take care of her as a friend just as Barry had. Still he gave her alone time with the man that had truly held her heart and always would. Her heart would be buried with him.

"Iris, I'm so sorry." Barry said.

"No apologies. I will not waste my last moments with my best friend listening to him apologize like he always spent too much time doing." She shook her head and tears fell from her face.

Iris leaned down to give him their first and last kiss.

"Goodbye. I love you, Iris." Barry exhaled one last time, and he was gone.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, No, NO, _NO_, _**NO**__!" _Hervoicecontinuallyrose_. _"Don't leave me. Please, Barry. Come back to me. I need you. I love you."

That was how her father found his kids. Iris was draped over his body. Her tears had long since ran out.

It was a cold day, but Iris was too numb from pain and loss to feel it as she sat at her best friend's grave. She shouldn't be going through this. They were only twenty five. He wasn't supposed to leave her. Now they would never get the future he had seen. The one where things were no longer awkward between them, and they were still best friends. She wanted it. They almost had it, but it was ripped from them.

Maybe that future would have been better than he had described since she had basically broken up with Eddie in favor of him. The timing had never been on their side, and now it never would be. She had lost her chance. She had lost her everything.

Iris felt someone sit down beside her and didn't bother to look and see who it was.

"Go away, Eddie. I know you're trying to help me, but this is something I need to do alone." She felt a hand brush against her face wiping away a tear. Iris hadn't been able to cry very much since that night, and that was another stab wound to her heart. What kind of person couldn't cry when the most important person in their life _died_?

"I know, Baby Girl, I know. I miss him too." Her father wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace.

She just stared at the gravestone.

"I love you too, Bear."

Bartholomew "Barry" Allen

A Light That Shone Through the Darkest Night

A Hero


	66. Chapter 66

**This is going to be really cheesy because I could not for the life of me think of a situation for this, but no one dies this time so no tears for this one. **

**Prompt form Avatar Linn. The Flash gets himself in a sticky situation that only Iris can get him out of. Sometime during the situation she figures out that the Flash is Barry.**

Barry wasn't sure how today had gone so well. It had the potential to be the worst day of his life, but _somehow_ it had turned into the best day ever. There was one insane metahuman to blame.

The day had started out with at a crime scene.

"Hey, Allen." Eddie greeted without looking up. He had been a little . . . off lately, and Barry wasn't sure what was going on with him.

"Hey, Bear, you're actually on time. What's going on?" Joe chuckled. He knew exactly why Barry had managed to be on time today.

Barry glared playfully at him even though he was slightly regretting moving back in with him.

Eddie looked up curiously. "Why _are_ you on time Barry?"

"Joe woke me up with a bucket of water this morning. Very, very cold water." Barry knelt down by the body as Eddie forced a small laugh at his story.

The detectives were quiet for a moment as Barry inspected the body.

"That weird." He said under his breath.

"What weird?" Eddie asked.

"You see these marks?" Barry gestured toward the victim's chest. The marks were near his heart and in the shape of a broken heart.

"Tattoo?" Joe asked kneeling down on her other side of Barry.

"No, it's more like a burn, but that's not what's weird. It looks like these marks burned him from the inside out."

"How is that possible?" Eddie asked looking at the body with a mix of disgust and curiosity.

Barry was in his lab running tests when Joe came in to talk to him, carrying the medical examiner's reports.

"You were right. The body was burned from the inside out, but that's not the weirdest part." Joe handed him the report and he speed read through it twice.

"The heart was missing?" Barry whispered in confusion. His mind was going crazy trying to think of an explanation for this as he paced around the lab. "There was no incision or anything on the body, no way that the heart could have been removed." Barry stopped walking. "Unless . . ."

"Unless what?" Joe asked as Barry left the lab. He followed his genius son all the way back to ME's lab in the basement.

"Could I get a sample of the residue in the burns?" He asked the medical examiner.

"Of course Allen." The ME walked out of his office and walked over to where the boy lie on a cold hard slab. He watched as Barry swabbed the inside of the burns on the victim's chest. Joe was once again surprised by his son's ability to be around and run test on dead things. He was feeling a little sick just watching, and he had been doing this job for almost as long as Barry had been alive.

"Thanks." Barry called to the ME as he left with his sample. Joe was still confused as to why he wanted the sample from the burns on the body.

When they arrived back in Barry's lab, he immediately started a test on the sample before turning to Joe.

"What's going on, Bear?" Joe asked. Barry opened his mouth to explain, but Joe stopped him. "English please, son."

Barry nodded. "I think . . . his heart burned through his chest."

"Is that even possible." This was one time that Joe desperately wanted it to be a metahuman and not a real thing.

"No, not for a regular person, at least." Barry mumbled.

The police department and STAR Labs had made absolutely no progress on this murder. This seemed to be the one metahuman that didn't leave a DNA sample around when they killed.

So he had gone for a run to try and clear his thoughts. He had to find a way to stop this meta.

As he ran past he saw two people in an alley. They seemed to be arguing.

"Flash." Even if he couldn't see the people very well, he knew that voice, and he knew exactly who was in that alley. Iris and someone dangerous.

He ran into the alley.

"Even for you that was fast." Her teasing brought a smile to his face despite the situation. She hadn't been very light hearted the past few days, and he had been growing increasingly worried.

He sent her Barry's signature head tilted sarcastic smile, and she narrowed her eyes at him, wondering.

"Oh hello. Glad you could join us." The woman's voice was sickly sweet, and he now understood the saying 'eyes are the windows to the soul,' and no amount of drapes and shutters could hide the crazy in her soul.

"Who are you?" Barry asked pulling Iris behind him.

"Goodie, I might not have to do much with you." She kept looking at the way his arms held Iris safe behind him.

"Who are you?" Barry tried to growl threateningly, but it just sounded like a slightly lower vibrated pitch than his usual disguised voice. He could feel Iris hang her head trying not to laugh at him.

"Kayla Barns. Expert matchmaker." She gave him a little curtsy. "I can lead you to your one true love."

_She's right behind me, _hethought_. _

Barns stepped closer to him, and he scooted back bringing Iris farther away from the madwoman.

She continued to come closer arm outstretched.

"One touch and I can lead you to the person who will complete you. If they kiss you no harm done, but if you can't get to them in time, well, you no longer have to worry about love anymore." She shrugged, and Barry struggled to figure out what she meant.

It hit him at the same time she did. Kayla hit his chest and it burned. She had done this to the man they had found that morning. He hadn't found love in time, so he didn't have to search anymore because his heart burned its way out of his chest.

"I hope your love lives in Central. All she has to do is kiss you, or he, I don't judge." She walked away, but Barry ran after her and tackled her. She didn't put up much of a fight, so it took barely two seconds for him to tie her up.

Iris looked at the ground. "Time to find love, huh?"

He looked at her. Iris, the only girl he had ever loved, the only girl he ever would love. The girl who was seriously dating another man and would not kiss him. So why was she looking down?

A sharp intake of breath, and Barry fell to the ground. The metahuman's power was affecting him faster than others.

"I-I can't."

"Can't?" Iris asked. _Is it possible . . . _

"I know who I love and well . . . It's not going to happen." He didn't realize how weak he was. Barry was no longer able to vibrate his voice. "She's dating someone else."

Iris knelt beside him. Fear growing in her chest. He loved her. She loved him, but what if it wasn't true love? He would die, and she would lose her best friend, forever. That couldn't happen, she at least had to try. Iris couldn't let Barry die without doing everything she could to prevent it.

Love. That was all she needed, and she loved him with every fiber of her being.

"No she's not, Bear." Iris said.

"What?" Barry wasn't sure what he was more surprised by; Iris and Eddie had broken up, Iris knew he was the Flash, or Iris loved him at least enough to try to heal him with 'true love's kiss.'

Barry writhed in pain, and Iris knew it was now or never. She leaned down to kiss him, and wondered just how on Earth she had known him for as long as she had and not kissed him. When she pulled away, Barry appeared to be fine, no more heartburn.

"Sooooo, you want to grab a bite to eat?" Barry asked. "I'll put on regular street clothes first?"

"Yeah, it's a date."


	67. Chapter 67

**Prompt from Kakashi 316. Barry tells Iris the morning after they spend the night together. Nothing graphic just the morning after they sleep together.**

**There will not be details.**

Barry was with the girl he had loved his entire life, so why was he feeling so horrible. Today should be the best day of his life.

He looked over at Iris, lying beside him on the bed. She looked so peaceful, and he could just see her bare shoulders and her makeup-less face. Iris was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She could be wearing a garbage bag and have a bird's nest in her hair, and she would still be perfect in his eyes. That had always made it harder to not be with her. To him, she had no faults.

He didn't know how long he had been watching her, but he could have done it forever.

"Good morning, Bear." She said sleepily.

"Good morning, Iris." He smiles at her. Barry could definitely get used to this.

Waking up next to Iris was his Heaven. Knowing that his feelings weren't unrequited like he had assumed they were for so many wasted years.

"I'm going to go make you some breakfast and coffee. What would you like?" Barry asked.

"Hmmmm, I'll just go with some cereal." Iris said casually.

"Is that your way of telling me to surprise you?" Barry gave her a peck on the lips then crawled out of bed and pulled on his pants.

"What? No, I just want some cereal." Iris gave him a mock serious look.

"Really, because the Iris I know has never been known to pass on a homemade breakfast, especially one that she doesn't have to make." Barry smirked at her.

"Well, my Barry _is _a good cook. How could I turn down a homemade breakfast?"

Barry's smile grew, and he went to the kitchen. Her words swam through his head as he heard her get in the shower. _My Barry_. He wasn't sure why it hit him so hard, she had called him that before. She had called him hers for their whole lives, but now it meant something more. He was officially hers, and it felt good. So, why did it feel so wrong?

He finished up making pancakes almost exactly when Iris came out of the bathroom with her hair still dripping.

"Mmmm. Looks delicious." Iris looked over at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Barry said as he pulled out a chair for her and handed her a plateful of pancakes.

"Yes something is wrong. Oh, you better not be feeling guilty. I swear. We've been dating for a while, we love each other, and you are probably my first boyfriend that my father would not even think about killing." Barry couldn't help but laugh at the last reason she gave. But she also made him realize why he was feeling off. Barry was feeling guilty, it just wasn't about sleeping together. It was because he wasn't being completely honest with her.

Barry sighed deeply sitting across from his girlfriend.

"Uh oh. Serious face."

"Please don't hate me." Iris was suddenly scared.

"What's going on Barry? There is nothing you could say that could make me hate you. You should know that by now." She spoke quickly.

"I haven't been completely honest with you for a while." He began. "I-I really don't know how to have this conversation."

"At the most, I'll be mad at you, but there is absolutely no way that I could hate you, so spit it out. You don't need to be so nervous." Iris assured him.

"I'm the Flash." Barry said simply.

Iris merely stared at him. "Seriously Barry, what's going on? I need to know. You're kind of scaring me now."

"Ok." He nodded his head. He scooped her up and carried her to the roof.

"Ok, um, what?" Iris spoke in short bursts. "Not how I expected this morning to go." She stopped talking for a minute while she tried to slow her breathing. "Not something I was expecting from my best friend." She finally turned around to face Barry. He stood off to the side occasionally glancing at her to gauge her reaction.

"So?" He dragged the word out.

"A little mad you kept it from me, but I'm assuming my dad had a role in that. I'm glad you told me. I mean, you're Barry, it's late or never." She laughed, and Barry relaxed at the sound. It wasn't voluntary, it was just natural. If Iris was happy, things were good.

"C'mon. Let's go eat." Barry walked toward the door, but Iris didn't follow.

"I kind of like being carried at super speed." She said pursing her lips slightly and avoiding eye contact.

"I'll have to remember that." Barry scooped her up in his arms again and took off running.

"Don't forget we promised to go over to my Dad's house for dinner."

"I'll make sure I'm relatively on time for that." Barry smirked at her playful glare.

Barry, true to his word, was relatively on time for dinner. Meaning, of course, that he was only four minutes late instead of ten, and dinner was still in the oven, so he didn't feel too bad about it.

"Hey, son. We're in here." Joe called from the kitchen.

Barry walked in to see his little family sitting around the dinner table waiting for him and for dinner to be ready.

"Hey guys." He sat down in between them in his normal place.

Joe looked back and forth between his two kids before settling his gaze on Barry.

"Just know, if you take as long to propose to her as you did to tell her you love her or to ask her out, I may have to beat you, son." He said completely deadpan.

Barry pulled out his wallet and handed twenty bucks to Iris.

She looked at her father's disapproving gaze. "I said you would mention us getting married in less than sixth months, he gave you a little more credit than that."

"Define soulmate for me." Joe rebutted.

"A noun meaning a close friend who completely understands another, or a person who had the same beliefs and opinions as another person." Barry practically recited.

"Thank you diction-Barry." Iris laughed at her boyfriend.

"Diction-Barry?" He questioned.

"First thing that popped into my head." She defended.

"Ok." Barry laughed and leaned over to kiss her as Joe watched his kids with a smile on his face.


	68. Chapter 68

**I am completely swamped with homework, and this one's a bit complicated, but I'll do my best because this sounds really fun.**

**Prompt from Sabra Jaguar. Barry faces a metahuman who makes him forget he's the Flash. He wakes up somewhere in an odd red costume and freaks out. He goes to Iris, figuring she can help him find out what's going on with him, and she has to explain what she knows about the Flash, all the while not knowing entirely what's going on, herself. I wonder if she'll try to make him keep the secret from her dad.**

_Barry ran through the alleyway. He wasn't running from anything, just feeling the wind against his face, and occasionally stopping a mugging, but nothing to big had been going on. _

_Then he heard a scream and reached the screamer before they ran out of breath and stopped screaming._

"_Get away from me!" A man commanded another, though not very threateningly. _

"_But I can make you forget, forget all your troubles." The second man said._

_A third man started to nod his head. "Forget all my troubles." _

_The first man, presumably his friend, turned his gaze on him. "Jimmy? You wouldn't just forget your troubles, you would forget everything. What about your family, Jim? They need you."_

Obviouslyametahuman_, he thought. How do you fight a metahuman that can induce amnesia? How does it even work? Would he forget his life if he touched the meta, or did he affect people a different way? There were too many unknowns and Caitlyn would kill him if he got affected, but he couldn't let the metahuman erase these people's memories._

Barry woke up from the weirdest dream. He had dreamt he was fighting someone with superpowers, and, weirder than that, he dreamt he had super speed. It was definitely a dream. Who could imagine him, super tardy Barry Allen, with super speed? He stood up figuring he would go visit Iris, and thank her for coming to the particle accelerator launch last night. How had he gotten here? What the heck had happened after he walked Iris home?

He looked down at himself. _I should probably shower first._

After he had showered and changed he walked out of his apartment. When he looked on his front step and saw the newspaper, he freaked out and started running to Jitters. He _had_ to talk to Iris, _now_.

He reached Jitters in only a few seconds and freaked out even more. He really did have super speed.

"Hey, Bear." She greeted warmly, she looked at her best friend a little longer, and started to worry. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"This is going to seem like a weird question, but it'll make sense in a minute. What day is it today?" Barry asked pleadingly. His right hand was shaking with his newfound super speed, and he was surprised Iris hadn't noticed yet.

"Tuesday."

"Full date please." Iris gave him a funny look.

"January 27."

"Year?"

Iris's heart beat faster, and she began to panic. Barry was acting really weird. "2015. Are you going to explain what's going on now, Bear? You're freaking me out."

Barry let out an exaggerated sigh. "This morning I woke up in an alley, and the last thing I remember is . . ." Barry thought hard about his last memory. "I was in my lab, watching something about the particle accelerator malfunctioning or something along those lines on the news, even that's a bit fuzzy."

Iris called over one of the other waitresses. "I have to go take care of something. Can you cover for me? Please, thank you." She grabbed his shaking hand and stiffened briefly before practically dragging him out of the coffee shop. They walked until they found a street where no one could overhear their conversation.

"What's going on with your hand?" She started.

"I'm not really sure what's going on with that either. I woke up in an alley, went home, saw the paper with what I had hoped was a really off date, and ran to Jitters a lot faster than I thought possible. My hand still hasn't stopped shaking. It's actually really freaking me out."

"Ok Flash, let's take you to STAR Labs." Iris said, trying to calm herself down. Her mind ran over the facts. Barry had amnesia, and he was the Flash. Barry had amnesia, and he was the Flash. _Barry had amnesia, _and_ he was the Flash._

"Why do you call me Flash, and why would STAR Labs let us in?" Barry's eyebrows drew together as he looked at Iris with eyes full of confusion.

"When the particle accelerator exploded, you were struck by lightning. You kept dying, then you were in a coma for nine months. STAR Labs asked to treat you there, and Dad and I said yes. You became friends with the three remaining employees; Caitlyn, a kind of stern geneticist, Cisco, a very excitable engineer, which I guess explains where you got the Flash suit, and Dr. Wells."

"I'm friends with Dr. Harrison Wells?" Barry breathed out the words incredulously.

"Yep. A lot can change in a year." Iris looked at him. Of course he would lose his memory today.

"What's going on with you?" Barry stopped walking and turned to his best friend grabbing her arm and gently turning her to face him.

"Nothing much. I just dumped my boyfriend of about a year for someone I just recently found out had feelings for me, but I'm worried that it won't work out due to other more recent events." She tried to be as vague as possible.

For the first time, Iris was able to see the look of hurt and acceptance that crossed his face when she talked about liking other people. _How did I never notice this?_

"Why don't you think it will work out?" Barry tried really hard to be supportive just like he always did.

"You only get details when you can remember them for yourself. For now, I guess I need to explain you being the Flash, which by the way, you hadn't told me, so when you're no longer an amnesiac, you're in a lot of trouble."

"Sorry?" He wasn't sure how to apologize for something he didn't understand or remember.

Iris scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you would be. The Flash, you, is-are . . . this is kind of confusing to explain. Ok, you've been running around at super speed all over the city, saving people in a red suit and mask, so no one knows who you are. I started a blog about the Flash, you, and you kept trying to get me to stop writing it because you thought it would put me in danger, but you would pick me up and carry me to the roof at the speed of sound every time you came to Jitters after hours for a visit." Barry noticed the wistful smile on her face, but thought he was imagining it. "Oh, and don't tell my Dad about this, he'll just freak out."

Barry sighed. "I don't like keeping things from your Dad, Iris."

"Bear, you know him."

"Ok."

"We're here, let's go see if we can get your brain sorted out." Iris laughed softly, and Barry smiled in return.

**Sorry to cut it off so abruptly, but I have to get back to homework. I could only afford two hours on this.**


	69. Chapter 69

**A lot of people requested a follow up to the last chapter so I'm going to do it now. I was performing in a concert (plus homework build up), so this may be a little late or rushed. I haven't even been able to watch the new episode yet.**

Barry followed Iris through the halls of STAR Labs, surprised at how well she knew the place. He was gawking at everything like he would never get the chance to see it all again. Did he really spend a lot of time here? Was he really friends with Dr. Wells?

"Iris, what are you doing here?" A stern looking girl asked as if her presence was unusual. How could her presence be unusual if Barry spent a lot of time here?

Iris grabbed his still vibrating right hand and showed it to the woman.

"I'm assuming you know about this." The other woman's eyes widen in . . . fear? Apprehension? Yeah, apprehension.

She turned her gaze, now threatening, on Barry. "What did you do?"

"I honestly have no clue. Probably not the time to ask, but what's your name?" Barry spoke hesitantly.

"Not funny, Barry." A man with a warning look on his face and a lollipop in his mouth walked in and shook his head at Barry's comment.

A thought flashed through his head of a man on fire 'I'm not Ronnie.' What the heck did that mean?

"He's not joking Cisco." Iris looked over at Barry worriedly.

Caitlyn grabbed Barry's arm and led him to a medical table. Then she turned to Iris who had followed them in along with Cisco.

"How long has been like this?" She asked then drew a blood sample. "Cisco go get Dr. Wells."

"He came to Jitters in a panic about 8:30ish." Iris answered.

"Barry, what's the last thing you remember?" She flashed a light in his eyes looking for hints of a concussion or trauma.

"I was in my lab at the precinct, and I heard something about the particle accelerator malfunctioning, then I woke up today in a weird red suit. Still not sure what's going on with that. Something about a flash."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. The suit is not weird. The suit is awesome, and even if you don't remember, that suit has served you well. It deserves more than that." The man the other had called Cisco defended. Barry now remembered something Iris had said about him being an engineer.

Behind Cisco was a man Barry had idolized for a very long time, but with an unexpected twist. He came in in a motorized wheel chair. He tried hard not to stare but failed.

"Dr. Wells, it's an honor to meet you." Barry stated with awe and reverence.

The man merely nodded and looked at him pensively. "Let's see what we can do about that memory of yours." He turned to the man sucking a lollipop. "Cisco, is that miniature MRI you were working on finished."

"Uhh. It's finished but untested." He glanced at Barry.

"Given that you heal quickly and Cisco is really good at his job, do you mind being the first user?" Dr. Wells asked him. "It's probably safe."

"I heal quickly?" Barry turned to Iris. She laughed at his '_What the heck are they talking about?'_ face.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Caitlyn said as she shooed Cisco out, presumably to get his new invention.

A few hours and tons of tests later, they had still found nothing.

"So the particle accelerator made lightning that struck me and gave me super speed. Was I the only one affected?" Barry asked breaking the frustrated silence between Caitlyn and Dr. Wells.

"No, you've actually been fighting the bad metahumans, that's what we call everyone who was affected, as the Flash."

"Is it possible I lost my memory because a metahuman erased my mind?" He watched their faces to gauge their reactions.

"Yes, I suppose it is. What made you think of that?" Dr. Wells questioned.

"When I woke up this morning I had dreamt, or at least thought I had dreamt, fighting a man with super powers, erasing memories. I thought it was just a dream because I also had super speed in the dream, but that's actually true, so maybe some of the other things are true too." Barry reasoned, he looked over at Iris expecting her to be confused, but instead he found that she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation of how he lost his memory. She was lost in thought, and honestly, he shouldn't have expected her to care about the _how _he had lost his memory. Iris would care if they found a way to reverse it.

"Hey, guys. Thanks for all your help, but I think Iris and I need to go now. If I remember anything else, I'll let you know." Barry stood and helped Iris up.

As they walked toward the door, Dr. Wells called out to them. "For now, keep him in a familiar area. It may jog some memories. Cisco laughed. "Pun not intended."

"Do you want to walk or do you want to carry me and run?" Iris asked. She felt herself fly up into his arms, and then they were at her father's house.

When Barry stepped into the living room, he was hit by another memory.

"_I love you, Iris. When we were kids I loved you before I even knew what the word love meant." His past self said with tears in his eyes. _

He must have looked heartbroken because the moment Iris looked over at him, she engulfed him in a comforting hug.

"What's wrong, Bear?"

"Nothing, I just remembered something that happened in this room." He refused to meet her gaze, and her hopes soared. Did he remember what she thought he remembered?

"What was it?" She prodded.

"I-I told you I loved you." As he finished talking her smile grew wider. "Now I'm confused."

"Think back to our earlier conversation. I dumped my boyfriend for someone that I recently found out had feelings for m-" Iris was interrupted by Barry's lips being pressed on hers.


	70. Chapter 70

**Homework finished! . . . Until I get more. Sorry this is a bit late.**

**Prompt from Fangirl 2 Fanwoman. Iris is in Barry's apartment unsupervised, for whatever reason, and happens upon his Flash suit, assuming he keeps a spare in his apartment.**

**I'm changing this to fit the new situation. She's in Barry's room at Joe's house unsupervised, which is a bit easier to explain than his apartment.**

If Iris had known Barry's surprise party would be more of a surprise to her than Barry, she didn't think she still would have done it, but at least everything was out in the open now. Except for her secret.

"Hey, Dad. Remember keep Barry out of the house at all costs. I'm already going to have a late start setting up because he's already late getting out of the house." Iris instructed her father from around the corner waiting for Barry to leave. "I'm going to get some coffee. Text me when he gets to work?"

"Don't worry too much about the late start, you can count on an extra few minutes because he'll be late then too." Joe laughed at his own joke, and he could practically hear her roll her eyes on the other end.

"I'll see you tonight. Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, baby girl."

The text saying Barry was at work came when she was almost back from the coffee house. She pulled out her key and opened the door. She was amazed by how clean the house was now that she was gone and Barry was back, and she wondered whether it would be able to stay that way when she moved back in in a few days.

She tried to stop the tears threatening to fall down her face at the thought. Today was Barry's birthday and since he wasn't awake for the last one, she would make this one memorable. Iris had even invited his Starling City friends since he seemed to have more friends there than in Central City.

The bags of decorations and ingredients grew heavy in her hand.

When she had reminded Barry that his birthday was coming up, he had said no gifts, so of course she had disobeyed, but she had seriously relayed that message to Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Lyla, and Roy. She had gotten him a mug exactly like the one he loved that had been shattered close to Christmas. It wasn't much, but she knew it would make him smile. The mug did have one difference from the original. This one was engraved with 'BARRYxIRIS4EVER' on the bottom.

Iris cleared her mind as best as she could and set the bags full of random things down on the couch. There was one question answered; no, the house would not stay this clean when she moved back in.

There was a knock on the front door, and Iris ran to answer it.

"Hey guys. C'mon in. I'm just getting started." Oliver and Felicity stepped into the house and went toward the living room hesitantly. It was then that she realized neither of them had ever been to her father's house.

Oliver looked into the bag filled with decorations.

"Oh, no, mister. You are horrible at decorating. Go bake something." Felicity smiled playfully as she put the bag of ingredients in his hand and shooed him away.

"You can cook?" Iris asked with surprise evident in her voice.

"Yeah. Raisa taught me growing up, then there were five years where I kind of had to be able to cook. Where's your kitchen?" He spoke of his five years away with more nonchalance than Iris would have expected for a man who had been stranded on a deserted island.

Iris pointed him toward the kitchen. "I'm glad you can cook because I'm not so good. The only thing I make well is eggnog." Felicity laughed with her as they pulled out rolls of streamers. "Hold on, let me see if we have another roll of tape." She began to look around, but didn't find any. "Why don't you get started, and I'll get some tape from Barry's room?" Felicity shrugged in passive agreement. "For some reason he always has tape. Is that a scientist thing?"

"No, I think that's just a Barry thing." Felicity responded.

Iris walked into Barry's neatly organized room, the only thing that kept the room from looking unlived in was that the closet door was open. She walked over to close it, but something red caught her eye. She opened the closet further and pulled out the familiar red cloth of the Flash's suit. Why did Barry have this? Caitlyn had been kidnapped because she worked with the Flash, so obviously he had a team. Was Barry part of that team? No she couldn't deny the obvious evidence anymore. Her best friend, her Barry, was the Flash.

Iris had sat in Barry's room holding the suit for who knows how long before Felicity walked in. She was in too much shock to hide the suit from the other girl.

"Not the best way to find out is it?" Felicity said simply.

"Is there a good way to find out your friend lied to you about who they were?"

"A confession is the nicest way, but finding out on your own hurts a bit more. You have to understand why he did it though. What he does is dangerous, and it's not just dangerous for him. It's dangerous for everyone around him, and he cares far too much about you to let anything happen to you. You know that right?"

"I can take care of myself." Iris said stubbornly.

"Against normal criminals, I don't doubt that, but against bad guys with superpowers, Iris you can't fight them like normal people. Barry understood that when he first found out about his super speed, and that got him started on being the Flash. He could protect people from other metahumans that the police would not be able to catch."

"How do you know all of this? I mean you're not even surprised that he's the Flash." Iris looked over at Felicity suspiciously.

Oliver walked in to find out where the girls had been for the last half hour or so.

"What's going on, oh." He said as he saw "I know you don't want to, but she'll figure it out eventually, and we can get Barry out of trouble." Felicity said looking at Oliver. He merely looked at her with a look that scared Iris, but had absolutely no affect on Felicity. "You know I'm right."

"What's going on?" Iris asked. "What would I fig-Oh. Flash, Arrow, you were in Central the same time. How have I not figured any of this out?" They could see the gears turning in her head as she spoke.

"See, you didn't have to tell her."

"So why'd you want me to?" Oliver squeezed her shoulder lightly. "I'm going to go back downstairs and continue baking."

"We should go get decorating. Barry will be back in about six hours, and I want today to be perfect. With the exception of this." Felicity was worried by how quickly she could out on a genuine looking smile, and they went back to decorating.

A reformed killer is in my house baking birthday treats for my super powered best friend. Iris did not want to get used to thoughts like that running through her head, but now, she guessed, she had no choice.

Six hours passed and the house was full decorated. Iris had had to ask Oliver to unbury a small ladder to tape the streamer and non helium balloons onto the ceiling. She still wasn't sure how he did it as it had been buried in years worth of stuff because they hadn't had to use it since Barry hit his growth spurt. They could just put him on a chair, and he could reach the ceiling just fine. But now everything was finished and they could relax and wait for everyone else to arrive. They had even had time to help Iris move some of her boxes from Eddie's apartment to her old bedroom.

Caitlyn and Cisco got there first and said that Dr. Wells was sorry he couldn't be there. They didn't give an excuse, but no one really expected one. Diggle and Lyla were next with John carrying Digglet as Felicity affectionately called her. The baby was handed to Oliver. Iris couldn't help but think about how weird it was to see a former billionaire playboy/ murderous vigilante holding an infant. Where he usually looked intimidating and scary, he was now gentle and kind of adorable.

Roy was the last to arrive. "Sorry, I had to deal with rowdy customers because the bouncer was sick and . . . then I . . . got lost." He admitted.

The party started about when they expected it to with Barry being only five minutes late instead of ten, and went just like Iris had planned. When all the guests had left she pulled out her present and sat Barry down.

"Oh, c'mon. I said no gifts Iris." He whined.

"I don't care, open it." She was trying to look excited instead of nervous like she really felt. She was not doing a very good job of it and Barry was growing nervous.

Barry did as he was told. He laughed lightly when he saw it and then pulled Iris into his arms.

"Thanks Iris."

"This time you just need to be fast enough to catch it. I bet you can do it in a flash." His eyes widened.

"How do you-" He began.

"I saw your suit. Felicity and 'Arrow' walked me through the reasoning of not telling me, so you won't get that lecture on your birthday."

Barry nodded in shock and the two friends sat in silence together.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Turn the mug over."

Barry looked puzzled, but his smile grew as he read the words on the bottom of the mug.

"Iris, what happened?" Joe called from upstairs.

"Um, not exactly how I wanted to tell you this, but I broke up with Eddie." She called up. Iris refused to look in Barry's eyes afraid of what she might find there.

"What happened?" He asked.

Iris pretended not to know what he was talking about. "I'm assuming Dad just found all my stuff back in my room. I had Oliver and Felicity help me move back in."

Barry looked at her and tilted his head. "Don't best friends share everything?" She looked at him with pursed lips, and he realized just how stupid that sentence was.

"Despite that, I'll tell you. You happened." She leaned over to his ear. "Happy birthday, Bear." She met his lips.


	71. Chapter 71

**Prompt form Fantasy Lover 4evr. Songfic. Tell Her by Jim Bakkum. I do not own. I'm not allowed to put song lyrics in here so the full lyrics will be in my profile. This is before Barry's confession. No Flash confession in this one.**

_I know a girl who's brokenhearted  
>to<br>She really loved him_

It started when they were just kids. Iris could never stop thinking about the boy who lived down the street. All of her other friends just passed by him thinking he was just a weird kid, but she thought he was more. When she said as much they laughed at her and said 'You haven't even met him Iris' 'He has the worst case of the cooties ever seen' or 'He doesn't have any friends, he must be weird.' The others just laughed.

"Fine, I'll go talk to him." Iris lifted her head and walked away from her friends. She didn't look at them again until she had sat down next to Barry on the playground.

"She's actually talking to him." One of her louder friends said.

"Hi. I'm Iris. What's your name?" Iris got her first look at him close up.

He lifted his head and realized she was talking to him. A look of confusion crossed his face then he settled on the biggest, sweetest smile Iris had ever seen. Every time Iris looked back on her life to try to figure out when she fell in love with Barry, she became more and more sure that it was his smile.

"I'm Barry."

"Well, Barry, you're going to be my best friend." She stood up and held out her hands. "C'mon. Come meet my other friends." Barry grabbed her hands hesitantly. He wasn't used to talking to anyone his age, a whole group was a big change, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that. Barry realized he didn't really have a choice as she yanked him up and pulled him toward her friends. Barry felt something for Iris. He didn't have the right word to describe it yet, but he knew he would hold Iris's hand as long as she would let him.

_And I know a boy who could not say just  
>to<br>It hurt her, though he really loved her_

One of Iris's friends was getting married today. Barry didn't really have friends other than Iris, her other friends weren't as open to him as she was. But there he was at the wedding of two kids he didn't really know because she wanted him to come. They were four years old.

Iris kept looking over at him. He wasn't sure why she kept glancing at him, but he definitely knew why he was noticing. In the few months that they had been friends, he had named the feeling he had for her. Love.

_I love you._ Three little words that he thought about every time he saw her, but he was too afraid that he would lose his only friend.

_If there's a lesson to be learned  
>to<br>So don't you ever make that mistake_

Words can be said but can never be erased. What if he scared away his best and only friend? He wasn't sure he could go back to being all alone again. The wrong words could hurt. His mommy had taught him that. Barry was ready to be a grown up, love must be easier for them. Look at mommy and daddy. They were perfectly happy, and they loved each other.

_Tell how you love her  
>to<br>Just tell her you love her_

I love you, Iris. I love you, Iris. I love you, Iris. The words ran through his head constantly as they went back and forth on the swings. Everyone in school thought they were dating anyway because they held hands on the swings and on the sidewalk.

Iris kept hold of Barry. She really, _really_ liked him, but the guy always had to be the one to ask the girl to be their girlfriend and he still hadn't. She had thought they would get married that summer, not too long after Marlie and Timmy's wedding, but he hadn't asked her.

_Time marches on  
>to<br>Something would it be different_

He loved her. She loved him. His parents had adored her when they were still around, and her single Dad already considered Barry his son. It would have been perfect if they would only just realize the other's feelings, but they had the flaws of being human. They could never see the good things in front of them.

Iris had survived on Barry's every word, even when she couldn't understand what he was saying. A lot of the time she would listen to his scientific ramblings and then ask him to explain it in English, just so she could hear his voice some more. The worst time in her life was the nine month period where the only way she could hear his voice was from calling his answering machine.

Even when she was staying over at her boyfriend's house she was dreaming that when she woke up, it would be Barry's sleeping form lying next to her.

_If there's a lesson to be learned  
>to<br>So don't you ever make that mistake_

Barry had tried so many times to tell her how he feels, how she makes him feel, but it didn't matter. Every time he tried something big would come up and ruin the moment, or she would say something that made him question whether or not it was a good idea to tell her at all, or, more often than not, he would be too afraid to force the words out of his mouth. He would tell himself that it was more important to keep being her best friend, and that telling her he loved would put that friendship at risk. Even he knew what a load of crap that was. Barry had known Iris their whole lives, he knew she would not end their friendship if she didn't love him back, sure it would be awkward for a while, but it wouldn't be over.

_Tell how you love her  
>to<br>Just tell her you love her_

Barry had tried so many times to tell her how he feels, how she makes him feel, but it didn't matter. Every time he tried something big would come up and ruin the moment, or she would say something that made him question whether or not it was a good idea to tell her at all, or, more often than not, he would be too afraid to force the words out of his mouth. He would tell himself that it was more important to keep being her best friend, and that telling her he loved would put that friendship at risk. Even he knew what a load of crap that was. Barry had known Iris their whole lives, he knew she would not end their friendship if she didn't love him back, sure it would be awkward for a while, but it wouldn't be over. The truth was, he wasn't sure if _his_ heart would be able to take it if she didn't feel the same way. What would he do if the one girl he had ever had feelings for only saw him as a friend or a brother? Could he survive that pain? Could he move on?

As the Flash he had set people up just by making them bump into each other, but Barry couldn't say three little words. A chance he'd be hurt, or a chance he could be happier than ever before.

Iris meant more than anything to him. But did a chance to _be with_ Iris mean more than being with her every day? That wasn't the choice though. The choice was temporary awkwardness or cowardice _or_ the potential for happiness he couldn't imagine.

He had to tell her.

"Iris." His voice was serious, so Iris immediately dropped what she was doing thinking she was going to need to offer comfort.

"What's wrong, Bear?" She saw pain in his eyes. Iris's heart broke, she never could handle seeing the man she loved hurt.

"Nothing's necessarily wrong, just confuse-"

"You're stalling, Barry." Barry noticed, not for the first time, that she said his name more when she was worried about him. "Spit it out."

"I love you." He tentatively looked up at her face.

"I love you too, Bear." Those were not the words he was expecting to hear her say.

She smiled at him, and he smiled at her with the smile she had first fallen in love with.


	72. Chapter 72

**Prompt from I'm Iam. Iris gets powers at the same time as Barry, she doesn't discover he is the Flash, she becomes a Flash with him.**

"Bear, it's been nine months. I need you to wake up. Please Barry, I need to talk to you and have you talk back. So much has been changing, and I can't lose you, Bear." Iris laid her head on her best friend's chest, just so she could hear his heartbeat, well maybe not just. There was something else she wanted to say to him, but it was something she wanted him to really hear again. He hadn't had a chance to respond the last time she said it.

She held one of his hands and thought she felt his thumb rub against the back of her hand, but this wasn't the first time she had thought that. _Wishful_ _thinking_, she thought. Until she felt a hand on her back.

"Iris, are you ok? What's going on?" He noticed that his chest was wet, and she rose from his chest and looked him in the eye. He sat up.

"You're awake!" Barry looked confused as Iris hugged him tightly.

"I didn't sleep in _that_ long." Barry laughed, ignorantly.

"Nine months." Iris said into his shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Iris?" Barry was starting to worry.

"You've been in a coma for nine months, Barry." He fell into a shocked silence at her words.

"Please say something, Bear." Iris pleaded.

"How long have you been here?"

"Today, just about a half hour. I come whenever I can." Barry looked at her, and she found herself unable to stop talking. "I've spent most nights here. You've been asleep for nine months I needed to be with yo-"

"Iris, what else is going on?" Iris pulled away from him.

"Iris, you're early." A woman said as she walked in. "Oh!" She exclaimed when she saw Barry standing up. "Dr. Wells, come here. Alright, Barry, I need to run some tests on you."

"Barry, this is Caitlyn-Dr. Snow. I'm Cisco." A friendly looking guy said as a man who Barry automatically knew was Dr. Harrison Wells, his idol, came in in a wheelchair.

Caitlyn went a little crazy with how many tests she ran on him, and Iris was silent for the majority of the time they were in the room. Dr. Snow came back into the room. Holding a chart.

"We were right. He's like you, Iris." She showed Iris something on her tablet.

Barry watched as Iris's face went from shock to happiness to relief.

"What does she mean by I'm like you?" Barry looked over at Iris expecting to get a clearer answer form her than Caitlyn.

"Come on!" Iris grabbed his hand and pulled Barry out of the room he had so far been confined to.

She told him to sit in a chair facing a window facing a window to a room housing a very odd looking treadmill. Iris stepped on the treadmill and all Barry could see after that was a blur that had to be his best friend. She flew off the back of the treadmill, and Barry reached her in less than a second after she collided with the wall. She was holding her arm painfully.

"See you are like me." Iris laughed. "Calm down I heal quickly. I'll be fine within a few hours. You want to play with the new toy don't you?"

"No, I want to get Caitlyn in here to take a look at that arm." Barry turned to do just that, but Caitlyn walked in without needing to be called.

"I'll get Iris bandaged up. You should get on the treadmill so Cisco and Dr. Wells can see how fast you really are. It's safe enough, you'll heal as quickly as Iris."

Barry had to admit, that treadmill was insanely fun. Cisco said he got close to 800 miles per hour in the two minutes he was in there. Barry couldn't really believe that, but at the same time he had felt how fast he was going. Iris walked out of the medical area with a cast on her arm.

"So, how did this happen?" Barry asked Iris as they left to go tell Joe he was awake.

"Well, I don't really understand the science of it, but the particle accelerator exploded it created a storm, that created a lightning bolt, that struck you when we were talking in your lab. You pushed me toward the door when, I guess, you sensed something was going to happen. I got a few burns from being near it, but it actually struck you. You'd probably be dead if you didn't have super healing."

"What were we talking about?" Barry asked. "You look like you're worried that I don't remember."

"Uh, I . . ." She knew that if she didn't do it now, she would never work up the courage to do it again. "ItoldyouIlovedyou."

"Come again?" Barry laughed.

"I went to your lab to tell you I love you, and then-" Barry but her off by kissing her. "I like that reaction more than the last one."

"I've loved you for years, and wanted to kiss you just as long. How did I react last time?" Barry was still out of breath from the kiss.

"You went into a coma." Her laugh was partially caused by relief and partially the look on Barry's face.

They reached the police station. "Hold on, I have an idea. Don't tell your Dad that I'm awake, just pretend like I'm still in the coma." Iris looked at him suspiciously, but she agreed to it anyway.

Barry ran up to the main CSI lab at super speed, making sure to slow down when no one was around to see him. He asked one of his coworkers that was working a case with Joe if he could deliver the newest batch of evidence and surprise Joe. The other CSI said that it would be alright as long as he was allowed to see Joe's reaction.

Barry walked downstairs holding the evidence file so that it mostly covered his face. His fellow CSI walked a few feet behind him.

"So sorry I'm late Joe. I kind of slept in." Barry said coming up behind Joe and Iris.

Joe immediately turned around and looked at his kid. "I missed you so much, son. Even if you did just give me a heart attack."

"Sorry." Barry laughed.

"I'm glad you're back, Bear."


	73. Chapter 73

**Prompt from Silver Nightmare. Flash and Arrow team up to fight a metahuman named Shadow Phinoex who can control fire, shadows, and see people's worst fears. Shadow Phinoex attacks Iris to get Barry's attention and get the Flash to herself.**

"Hey what are you doing here?" Barry asked as Oliver and Felicity walked through the door of Jitters.

Oliver answered with a low voice. "There's a mysterious killer on the loose, and we tracked her here."

"Does this mean we're teaming up again?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes." Felicity said pleasantly as Oliver tried not to roll his eyes at the younger man's eagerness.

"Should we get some coffee then head over to STAR Labs and you can fill us in?" Barry suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good." Felicity answered pleasantly. "So, I heard Iris got a reporting job. How's she liking it?"

"Well, she really likes journalism, but they're trying to get her to do stories on the Flash, but after Bivolo . . ." Barry trailed off.

His friends nodded their understanding. After they got their coffee, they headed to STAR Labs according to plan.

"This woman has killed three Starling City police officers each were left with a SWAK mark on their cheek, and has tried to find the foundry-"

"Arrow Cave." Barry corrected earning a glare from Oliver.

"She's a pyromaniac, only attacks at night, and has only been seen when she wants to be seen. We don't knew what she's been igniting things with. Her name is Alicia Hanson." Oliver finished.

"Sounds like a metahuman. It shouldn't be too surprising for them to be in Starling." Caitlyn added when she received a weird look from Cisco.

"Fire and darkness." Cisco appeared to be thinking hard. "Shadow Phinoex." He nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm getting a report of an attack on a police officer on 32nd Street." Felicity called to the vigilantes. She preferred her system in the foundry, but she was working on updating the STAR Labs system. Barry ran to the scene and Oliver hopped onto his motorcycle and rode there as fast as he could.

When the Arrow arrived, the Flash was already fighting the metahuman. She was fading in and out of sight, and Oliver had not seen her do that before. Hanson's hands lit on fire and Barry released his hold on her crying out in pain. Arrow ran into the fight.

"About time." Barry teased still cradling his burnt arm. He had fallen to the ground due to extensive burns on his legs. He knew that it would heal within a few hours, but that didn't lessen the pain of the moment.

Arrow scoffed at him as he began to fight the metahuman. He was getting burnt as well, but he had been in dangerous situations longer than Barry and had built a better pain tolerance than the young speedster, but still he did not last long against the fire and the shadows she shrouded herself in.

She started to walk away but then turned back to the Flash.

"It's too bad you're taken, for now." She flirted in her sick little way and planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then she walked away with only a parting glance back at the defeated heroes as she rounded the corner out of sight.

Oliver walked over to Barry painfully. "Let's get you to the lab." He lifted Barry to his feet, and they hobbled over to Arrow's motorcycle.

"What do you think she meant by 'too bad I'm taken,_ for now_?'"

"I think it means we need to find Iris." Oliver growled his voice still disguised by his voice modifier. "But first we need to get you to the lab, so Caitlyn can take care of you."

"Not if Iris is in danger. We need to get her first." Barry tightened his grip on Oliver's shoulder.

"I'll call Dig. You call Joe. She should be home by now right."

"She lives with Eddie, but yeah, she should be there by now." Barry pulled out the untraceable phone that Felicity had given him on her last visit. He vibrated his voice as Eddie picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Eddie greeted.

"Hello, Detective. Is Iris home yet?"

"Flash. No. Why?" Eddie began to sound suspicious. Iris obviously hadn't talked to the Flash in a while, she was coming over to collect some more of her things tonight, and then she would be gone.

"I have reason to believe a violent metahuman is after her. Find her. Bring your gun. This metahuman can control shadows making herself nearly invisible and control fire making her extremely dangerous." Barry hung up the phone, and Eddie ran into the hall dialing Iris's number. He turned the corner to the elevator just in time to see Iris and another woman disappear into thin air.

He called the Flash back.

"Thawne." Barry greeted. "Do you have her with you?"

"No, your metahuman took her. She's gone. They, they faded into shadow like you said. Find her." Eddie growled the last sentence, they may have broken up, but he was not going to let her be hurt.

"We need to go now. Hanson _has_ her." Eddie heard the Flash say authoritatively.

"Can you run yet?" Came an unfamiliar voice.

"I'm fine. Saving Iris is the priority, Arrow." Barry hung up again, and Eddie stood in the hallway of his building unsure of what to do.

Arrow and the Flash arrived at Jitters. Felicity had tracked here them using the updated facial recognition software. Flash dashed inside closely followed by the Arrow.

"Oh, come to rescue the damsel in distress, Flash? How disappointing." Shadow Phinoex said. "I was looking forward to a fast kill and a happy life together."

"Get away from her." Barry sneered. He watched Arrow walk around behind her as she was focused on taunting Barry.

"You know, there's one power of mine that you don't know about." She smiled.

"Yeah, what's that?" Barry said trying to keep her attention.

"I can see people's worst fears. Their deepest darkest nightmares." There was a sickly evil glint in her eyes as she tilted her head. She pulled Iris close to her and lit her finger. "Yours and your green friend's fears are quite similar. You can't let the women you love get hurt."

The Arrow finally got close enough to her to start fighting, and the Flash ran towards the other meta and grabbed Iris. He set her down in a corner of the coffee shop then rejoined the fight.

"Gah!" Barry yelled as Shadow Phinoex burnt his face. He didn't even notice that she had removed his mask in the process.

They fought for only about two more minutes before Shadow Phinoex collapsed from exhaustion. Barry and Oliver were both exhausted and injured, but Barry still ran to Iris as soon as he could.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. You should be worried about yourself, Bear." Iris's hand hovered over the burns on his face.

"Are you willing to go let Caitlyn patch you up now, Barry?" Oliver said tossing the discarded Flash mask at Barry's feet.

Iris stood, pulling Barry up with her. "You need a hospital."

"No, a hospital won't be able to take care of me. I heal quickly, they would just try to study me or something. I need to get to the lab. I'll be fine in just a few hours."

"Don't scare me like this, Bear." Iris wrapped her arms around him. "I love you too, you know." Iris stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips gently avoiding his burns.

"I love you too."


	74. Chapter 74

**Prompt from Reveal Girl 666. After Barry, as the Flash, visits Iris in the hospital while getting her coffee in episode 1x07 she comes back in and sees Barry smirking at her, and she confronts him about it. She then starts asking him a bunch of questions until she throws him off with a question only the Flash would know, and he confesses that he is the Flash.**

Iris left the hospital room fully intending on returning with coffee. Heaven knows she could use it after a day like today. She definitely wasn't expecting a visit from her personal super hero who had decided to take a day off on the worst possible day.

She paid for her coffee then felt the familiar rush of air signaling the Flash's approach.

"Oh, now you show up." She rolled her eyes and tilted her head disapprovingly, but she was glad to see him. Barry's theorizing about the possibility of the Flash losing his powers coupled with him not showing up to rescue everyone from the Clock King had her worried.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you tonight." Iris could hear the guilt and regret in his disguised voice. "It couldn't be helped." She found it so easy to trust and believe him, almost like she had known him forever rather than just having been talking to him without so much as a clue to who he really was.

"It's okay," She shrugged trying to ease his guilt while trying to hide how happy it made her that he worried about her safety, seemingly more than other people's. Iris felt her own guilt develop at that thought. She wasn't any better than anyone else. "Girl's got to be her own hero every once in a while." Her feet moved her closer to him without being prompted by her mind, she was just naturally drawn to him as if she was meant to be with him. She tried to squelch the traitorous thoughts. She loved Barr-no, Eddie.

_Get your head straight. _She criticized herself.

"I promise, I'll never be late again." His head dropped in an admission of guilt. Whether that was the guilt of not being there tonight or not believing that he would be able to be on time, she wasn't sure.

"My best friend is always saying that, and he is always late." Iris shook her head making sure he knew that she knew he couldn't make that promise. Barry tried to hide his laughter despite the seriousness of the conversation.

He looked up and met her eye. "You're worth being on time for." Barry barely had a chance to see her stunned smile as he ran to change and beat her back to the hospital room.

Iris slowly walked back to her boyfriend's hospital room where her father and best friend sat at her boyfriend's bedside.

"Honey, you alright?" Her father questioned giving her a puzzled look.

"Yeah, why?" Iris slid her hands into her back pockets trying to hide her excited shake. Who wouldn't be excited? The Flash had just given her one of the best complements she had ever received. _Maybe he likes me back? _She wondered before chastising herself. She could not even consider a relationship with someone whose name she didn't even know, especially as she stood in the doorway of her boyfriend's hospital room.

"You forgot your coffee." Her father stated simply, almost as if he knew what had really happened. She looked down at her empty hands hoping the shake was not noticeable. Iris rubbed her hands together nervously.

_Think fast, think fast, believable excuse. _ "Oh, uh . . ." Iris trailed off, but Barry's happy smirk did not go unnoticed by her. That look was not just due to their mutual understanding of you another, there was something else going on. He knew something about her relationship with the Flash, but he had tried to convince her the Flash wasn't real.

He had looked down and away from her to avoid eye contact, and he had smirked, proudly even.

Could there really be something that Barry had been able to keep a secret form her? Iris could usually read her Bear not only like an open book, but an open book written in a 172 point font. He had not been able to keep anything from her their entire lives. At least that's what she had thought. The boy would not be getting away from this one easily.

Eddie was finally out of the hospital a few days later. Barry and Iris were sitting at a table in Jitters on her day off just talking like they used to for the first time since he had been struck by lightning.

"So, do you know the Flash, Barry?" Iris asked. Barry choked on his sip of coffee, and her major suspicion was confirmed.

"What?" He exclaimed.

"Don't bother with that one. Your reaction was enough of an answer." Iris couldn't help but laugh at Barry's futile attempts to convince her otherwise.

"What gave it away?" He asked upon giving up.

"The Flash spoke to me in the hospital, and when I came back completely flustered, you looked like you knew exactly what had gone on. What he had said to me." Iris smiled at the memory.

"You're worth being on time for." Barry said looking into the gorgeous brown eyes that he had fallen for so many years ago. It was time for her to know the truth. He couldn't keep his secrets from her any longer. Lying to her hurt a bit too much.

"Oh, oh!" Iris exclaimed as realization finally struck her. There was only one way that he would have known exactly what had happened between her and the Flash that quickly without her boyfriend or father noticing.

"Yeah, Iris, I'm the Flash." Barry admitted. He grabbed her hand and vibrated it to let her know for sure that she was right, and he wasn't just messing with her.

"Do you _like _me, Bear?" Her face scrunched up into her usual 'I don't really know what answer I want to get expression,' and Barry found himself unable to hold this secret in either.

"I have loved you ever since we were little. You're my best friend, and I want you to be more, but I understand that you're with Eddie, and-"

"Shut up, Bear." Her lips crashed onto his.

Her lifetime hero of a best friend was also her personal superhero, and he returned her feelings. Nothing could go wrong.


	75. Chapter 75

**I am once again loaded with homework, projects, and things I chose to take on but should not have, but I will have at least one chapter a week. Hopefully more. Love ya guys.**

**Prompt from Highlander 348. Iris gets superpowers in the accident alongside Barry. The only difference is she does not fall into a coma like him. She gets the power of teleporting. She becomes a superhero called Vanisher who wears a domino mask. Barry wakes up and realizes Central city already has a superhero thanks to Iris. He becomes the Flash anyway and a rivalry develops between them in the next few weeks. The Flash tries to beat Vanisher to crime scenes but she is faster than him by teleporting. Plus to mess with him further Vanisher has a habit of surprising Flash and then grabbing him physically and teleporting with him quickly all over the city making him dizzy. Iris vows to unmask the Flash so she will have the advantage in their next encounter though. They have a mini-battle between them with both of them pulling their masks off at the same time. Needless to say Iris is shocked as is Barry.**

Iris had been kind of distant since Barry woke up from his nine month coma. He knew him being gone was hard on her, but he knew something else was going on with her. Barry wasn't really one to talk. He has woken up nine months from his last memory with super speed and was now running around the city, close to the speed of sound, saving people and stopping bad metahumans, and he wasn't alone. Even his team at STAR Labs didn't know who _she _was. Vanisher. She would just appear at crime scenes or where attacks were taking place. Everywhere the Flash went to save people, Vanisher was there.

In a way it was nice to know he wasn't really alone, in his crusade or in being a good metahuman. If the city ever discovered and believed the existence of metahumans they would have at least two examples of good people with powers amongst all of the bank robbers and vengeful murders. What was driving Barry crazy was that he didn't know who she was. He wanted to know. Vanisher had practically been flirting with him at the last mugging they had met at, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't flirting back.

Barry loved Iris, he always had, but there was just something about Vanisher that was so familiar and intoxicating. He would go so far to say that he was developing feelings to rival those he had for Iris, and this masked woman didn't see him as a brother. The only problem was that he had no idea who she really was. Barry was constantly berating himself. How could he feel even close to what he felt for the best friend he had fallen in love with twenty years ago, especially when he knew next to nothing about this other woman? You can't be equally in love with two people.

"Hey, Bear." Iris greeted brightly as he walked into Jitters after a long night of chasing the masked teleporter from crime scene to crime scene. They had kept up the game of cat and mouse even after they had run out of crimes to stop.

"Hey, Iris." Barry felt worried for her as he realized that Iris looked almost as exhausted as he felt. She still looked beautiful, but he had known her for years, and he could easily tell when she had had sleepless nights. He healed quickly and as long as he ate enough he would be fine after running a full night, but Iris couldn't heal like him, she needed to be getting her sleep.

_I am being really overprotective. _He thought to himself. _Do you worry this much about Vanisher? _His mind went off course from there in a usual tangent; with one side of his head telling him he loved Iris, and the other arguing that he loved Vanisher. He tried his best to silence both halves and just drink his coffee. Barry was beginning to think he had a split personality disorder. At least both of his developing personalities could agree that love is confusing.

Iris was more exhausted than she had ever been before. She had had the Flash following her all over the city last night, and she had never teleported that many times in one night before. It had been thrilling. Iris felt like the Flash could understand her like no one else ever could, even Barry. Barry was still her best friend and she still loved him, but the Flash knew what it was like to have super powers, and well, she felt like the Flash returned her feelings, where Barry had always been oblivious to them.

As exhausted as teleporting away from the Flash with only time for a few flirtatious words was, she found herself counting down the hours until she could don her domino mask and vanish. Her powers made her feel so alive and in control, and her time with the Flash was just so thrilling and fun. How could she possibly last the whole rest of the day?

Finally, it was closing time. All Iris had left to do before she could go beat Flash to an attack or something like that was clean up. She made good use of her teleporting abilities and didn't bother walking anywhere. Iris could go from each table to the kitchen and dishwasher in no time. _Still _she thought _this is one thing that the Flash could probably do a lot faster_.

But, Iris had a plan. Tonight she would find out who the other masked hero was. Maybe she would even get the courage to ask him to gout with her, or more likely, she would ask to team up with him. Either way, tonight she would know who the Flash really is under that mask.

"Hello Flash." Iris spoke through a voice modifying app on the phone.

"Hi, Vanisher. Up for a little race?" He smirked.

"You're on." She leaned up against him and rose to her tip toes to reach the tall hero's ear.

Iris vanished going from alleyway to alleyway looking from any sight of trouble while the Flash zipped through streets as fast as he could. They crossed each other's path only a few times. Tonight was rather quiet, both of them liked thinking that their little competition had lowered the crime rate, but they knew better.

The Flash scoured a few streets while he looked for Vanisher's new location, and he found her on the rooftop of Jitters.

"You're losing your touch, I've been waiting here for almost seven minutes." She teased appearing right beside him then teleporting to the other side of the roof.

"For someone so beautiful, you're hard to find. My head is spinning from running in ever widening circles." Barry ran to where she was.

"So, how was your day?" She asked. He laughed at the simplicity of the statement as they teleported and ran around each other.

"Long."

"Hmm, is it better now?" She stood by him and rubbed his muscled arm.

"Getting there." He scooped her up in his arms and ran to the other side of the roof. He stopped but kept her in his arms.

"Are you going to put me down anytime soon?" She bit her lip to keep from smiling to wide. They both seemed to be really terrible at flirting, but somehow it worked. **(I'm not good at flirting, so I'm not very good at writing it. I hope this fills your feels with sweet, goofy, cheesiness.)**

"Nope, probably not."

Iris vanished and appeared on her feet only a few inches from him. At nearly the same moment their hands reached to each other's mask. For a few seconds they stood stalk still staring into the face of their best friend.

Barry reached out to touch Iris's face then bent down to kiss her.

"I love you, Iris." He said as they pulled apart for air.

"I love you too, Bear." She pulled him down into another kiss before allowing him to scoop her up again and carry her home.


	76. Chapter 76

**Prompt from KJ Wolf. Follow up to chapter 48 which is a follow up to chapter 25.**

"Allen, come on." Barry's new field partner, an invisible woman, called.

She was Barry's first partner despite his working in the field for about two years now. The police department had not been very public about the recruitment of metahumans out of fear of the public's reaction, so Barry had been the only one for a very long time.

"You _can _call me Barry, Ellie." He smiled at her. She was a nice person but very distant, almost like Caitlyn had been when they first met.

"_You_ can stop wasting time, Allen. We're needed at a bank robbery, and we're technically already late." She was already wearing the sliver uniform Cisco made her, and she looked Barry up and down in her way of reminding him to get changed.

He rolled his eyes and smiled. They had only been partners for a few weeks, but Barry knew all of her disapproving looks. Barry quickly got changed picked her up and carried her to the bank.

"Being late is just kind of easy for me. It's natural." He smirked as he ran to the bank door and vibrated against it until it opened. Ellie turned invisible and snuck inside the building. Flash ran into the building taking down armed gunmen as he returned all the money in their duffle bags to the vaults.

Shimmer **(I will leave the names to Cisco.) **and the Flash had taken down all of the criminals and had them wrapped up in neat little bows by the time the normal officers showed up to take them into custody.

"And I can still be on time for my date." Barry smiled as he set Ellie down on the floor of the precinct.

He looked over at her face while he changed at super speed. She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Good luck tonight. I will be requesting surveillance footage, so I can mock your stumbling." Barry smiled and glared playfully at his partner.

Iris and Barry had started dating two years ago, only a few months after she found out about him being the Flash, and, well Barry was really excited for tonight.

"Thanks, Ellie." He turned toward the door and zoomed away from the precinct and arrived at the restaurant three minutes before Iris was due to arrive.

Tonight had to be perfect, and if that meant he had to be on time, he would be early. Iris was exactly on time like usual. She started speaking to the hostess. His heart stopped at the sight of her smile, he hoped he would see that smile again tonight and for the rest of their lives.

The restaurant was not very busy when Iris arrived.

"Hi, I'm Sarah, how many tonight?" The hostess greeted.

"Two, but he'll be late." Iris smiled warmly thinking of her ever tardy boyfriend.

"You know, a tall young man came in just a few minutes ago and said that his girlfriend will assume he's late. Do you want to take a look and see if that's your guy?" The hostess smiled, she didn't get to see a lot of amusing things, but she had a feeling these two were going to be the best entertainment she would get.

Iris shrugged and looked around the corner where Sarah gestured. She drew in a sharp intake of breathe when she saw that Barry must have arrived early.

"Is everything ok?" Sarah asked.

"I think, I think he's going to propose. It's the only thing I can think of that he would make sure he was on time for, and now I'm going to feel awkward if he doesn't, but I think I'm right." Iris was smiling ear to ear and waited a minute until she could calm down.

"Either way I'm going to film it." The hostess stated it as a question.

Iris nodded giving her permission. If Barry noticed the hostess constantly looking over at them and holding up a video camera, he didn't let on.

Barry was trying hard to hide his shaking, and this was one thing that having super speed was not good for. He looked up at her smiling face and was once again reminded of how much he loved her, and how much he wanted to do this.

"Iris," Barry started, his throat dry. "I've loved you since we just kids, and I will love you long after I die." Iris smiled. She was definitely right, he was about to ask her to marry him.

"I love you too, Bear." He smiled that special smile that had _always_ been reserved for her.

"I would like nothing better than for you to . . . I want to . . . will you . . . I'm sorry, nothing I want to say sounds right. It's all been done before and there is no one like you. So why should I propose to you in such a cliché way? And of course saying that is also a bit cliché." Barry took a breath and began again. "You deserve more than this. You deserve everything your heart desires, and I would love if you would let me be that person that tries every single day to give it to you. I want to be there for you every second that I can. Iris Ann West, will you make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me?" Barry got the words out and immediately his breathing stopped as dropped to one knee and pulled a ring out of his coat pocket. He waited for the love of his life to respond to the most important question he had ever asked.

"A million times yes! I love you, Barry." Her eyes began to water as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

Iris fell into his arms and they toppled to the ground because Barry was getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. He finally drew breath as they began to laugh. When they finally calmed down, they stood up and Barry pulled his fiancé in for a kiss.

The hostess stood in the distance smiling. Sarah walked by and slipped the tape into Iris's purse.

"Can I get you some champagne?" Their waitress asked stopping at their table.

"Yeah, thanks." Barry replied before turning back to his future bride.

"Am I right in assuming my dad already knows?" She laughed.

"Your dad seems to be all knowing when it comes to us. So, when did you figure out what I was planning?"

"Not only were you on time, you were early." She laughed.

**Sorry, this isn't my best, but hopefully it was cute. **


End file.
